Moonflower Shikaino
by HidanSays
Summary: Shikamaru and Ino are on a mission to Suna when they find themselves caught up in a warzone. With confusions of physical attractions and mistakes. They find out that they love each other. EXTREME LEMON In later chapters... I suck at summaries and i am afraid of flames : Oh gosh i know what's going to come now...
1. Chapter 1

Before you read:

Hi everyone, please note that I do not like flames . I am very afraid of them… and I won't be checking on my reviews at all because I am afraid of flames… I don't think my poor little heart can take it

So sorry… I love you all… but I am very afraid of flames…

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… or any of the characters/phrases/ideas…

* * *

"What a drag." Shikamaru complained as he walked alongside his female companion.

She shot a cold stare at him shortly before punching his arm. "You idiot; why don't you ever stop complaining and try to stay focused on the assignment for once?" She hissed harshly.

Shikamaru shot a glance at her. Her long blonde hair swayed with the way she walked, her cheeks red and swollen from the intense heat, and her face furrowed with annoyance at him. He couldn't help but feel amused. She was extremely easy to pick on, even though he never tried to pick on her.

"Ino… You know we won't even get there till tomorrow right?" He informed her.

Again, she punched his arm. Having little energy made it pointless. She was very light for a girl her size; must be from her numerous eating disorders and such on.

_Troublesome. _He thought to himself.

They spent a few moments walking quietly alongside each other; trudging through the dry, hot sand of the desert. They were both assigned on a mission to escort a letter to Suna. The letter was to determine on which place the Chunnin exams were being held that year. Of course, Shikamaru had to go, he was an official Chunnin exam proctor; and Ino… was Ino.

She knew she was just assigned to come along because they needed someone else to go along with Shikamaru to the other hidden village. It made her irritated; everyone underestimated her, even Shikamaru. The sad part was, she hasn't ever been able to show her true potential yet in any of the missions she has been on lately.

She sighed heavily, deep in her thoughts. She hated the feeling of not being depended on; just a warm bag of fluid. Shikamaru heard her sigh and stopped to look at her. She was definitely irritated, a bad sign, or omen. He was not in the mood to be trying to take her on in any argument; so he turned back around just to avoid having to ask the 'are you okay?' question.

Ino picked up the container of water and shook it. _Empty _She thought to herself. She glanced over at Shikamaru's container which dangled on top of a very 'private' area on a man. Her lips were dry, and unknowingly, she began licking her lips.

Shikamaru glanced over at her. Her face was red and she was completely interested in something on him. He looked down, completely forgetting the fact that his bottle of water was there. Immediately, he felt disgusted by her.

"Ino! What in the world do you think you're doing?" He asked out of annoyance and intense awkwardness.

"Give me some." She said as she handed out her hands toward his crotch. Shikamaru jerked away harshly before she could touch him.

"What in the world is the matter with you?" He yelled at her, almost stuttering at the very idea of her checking out his 'baggage'.

"Why are you being so greedy you jerk, you have plenty!" She complained as she dove in again toward him. He grabbed her wrists and held her tightly.

"Ino, I'm not interested in you in that kind of way. I never even knew you were! But please control yourself out here! Be serious woman! This is not something a kunoichi should be doing." He spoke very harshly to her.

She furrowed her eyebrows; completely lost at what he had said, "What in the world are you talking about you lazy bum? Me? Interested in you?" She replied as she tore her wrist away.

"Then why are you staring at me like that? Idiot." He replied to her.

She furrowed her eyebrows and rubbed her wrists. "What do you mean staring at you?" She asked, infuriated with how he was treating her. She had no clue of why he was accusing her of even checking him out.

Then… she thought about it.

"Oh my God! Shikamaru! I was not looking at your crotch you dim wit! I was looking at your water container!" She punched his arm harshly; suddenly filled with energy again. "How dare you accuse me of such a thing!"

Shikamaru looked down toward the container, finally realizing it was there he immediately picked it up and opened it to drink some; not even thinking of apologizing to his falsely accused teammate.

_Empty._

"OH MY GOD! ITS EMPTY TOO? WE'RE GOING TO DIE OUT HERE!" She complained as she watched her companion toss his container to the ground. She was too exhausted to ask him for an apology right now, this wasn't the time to be trying to get into an argument with him.

Shikamaru just walked along side her, he could hear her huffing and dragging her feet deeply into the ground. Shikamaru couldn't walk that well at all either, and knowing they had no water made him even lazier. He immediately tore off his vest and jerked his shirt off, his lean muscles sweating and twinkling in the hot sunlight. Ino turned to look at him, seeing him without his shirt didn't interest her too much. She was too busy thinking she wanted to do the same thing too. _Lucky guys. _She cursed in her head as she turned back to walk forward.


	2. Chapter 2

They walked for hours, Shikamaru's chest was beginning to get burned harshly by the rays of the sun. How Suna people lived out here, he knew not. There weren't even clouds in the sky for crying out loud! He knew Ino was getting really thirsty. She hadn't said much to him, which was awkward for her.

"Ino, we have to stop somewhere soon. We need to recuperate ourselves before we fry out here." Shikamaru noted as they kept walking towards the abyss of endless heat. Ino turned around briefly, her face and shoulders were badly burned. It was awful for him to see her that way.

She didn't say anything; the heat was too intense, it was draining both of them. Shikamaru walked up towards her, he could hear her breathing was extremely labored. She looked at him very concerned about not finding any water soon.

"Shikamaru…" She said, her voice was so dry and raspy. "Shikamaru… We need to find water." She finished after clearing her throat.

"Yes, I know Ino. I don't know where we can find water though. It's too hot to keep walking like mindless zombies. We will eventually turn into them if we keep this up." He replied; his breathing just as labored as hers was.

She looked around for a bit holding onto his right bicep for support.

Then suddenly…

"Shika Shika! Look!" She pointed towards east. Her face was beaming like a kid at a candy store. Literally tears were welling up in her eyes.

Shikamaru turned to see what she was pointing at and to his belief. It was an Oasis.

"Oh my God." Shikamaru simply just said as he began running toward the unknown water basin with a couple of trees surrounding it; hoping it would not just disappear like a mirage.

It didn't.

Ino was running after him. She was suddenly filled with energy.

Shikamaru threw his stuff down and jumped into the water with his pants and shoes still on. Ino began taking off her clothes on the pile Shikamaru had left his things. One by one, every single piece of her clothing came off. Shikamaru had come back up for air when he looked over at Ino.

Her shirt was off, just a black bra on. As she worked with her shorts, her boobs shook vigorously. They were plump and full, a little sun burnt on the top, but that just made her look even fuller. Not to mention she was sweaty, her cleavage shined like golden gates ready to call forth horny men.

Instantly Shikamaru felt his mouth dry again. He was unable to tear his eyes away from the sweaty, blonde haired goddess that was stripping herself before him.

Her pants finally came off revealing matching black undies under. Her torso was long and lean, with fine lines that shaped her lovely abs. And her waist, oh they were so tiny, enough for Shikamaru to put his palms on and grope.

He turned away briefly before looking back at her.

She was taking off her fishnets on her legs. Her thighs were comfy looking, they weren't super skinny, but they were plump enough to make them perfect pairs for pillows. He immediately dove back into the water. Hoping she didn't notice him completely looking at her in awe. She was such a beautiful girl. Of course, in the past he has always seen her as an attractive person, but never beautiful.

He came back up and looked over to her. She was running into the water now, with her black bra and undies; her breasts jiggling with every step and her hand untying her blonde hair. She quickly dove into the water and came back up for air. The water trickling down every inch of her exposed body.

Shikamaru felt stunned. He had never even seen her like this, he always saw her as a child. She didn't know how to take care of herself, and was always boy hungry. But this Ino; the Ino he was watching in the water with him right now, could have fallen from the heavens and her would have believed it. She was magical.

She looked over to him, a big smile across her angelic face.

"Oh my god Shika! The water feels fucking fantastic!" She yelled at him as she splashed water towards him.

He instantly returned to reality and jerked away from the incoming water; although it was a welcoming sight in the conditions the both were.

"Ino, quit it." He lazily replied as he dipped in again.

Ino ignored him and laid back into the water, swimming with her eyes closed and enjoying herself; something she hasn't done in a while. She was in total trance in this state, heck she could even forget Shikamaru was there at all. They both swam for what seemed like forever. Before they knew it, it was already dark.

Shikamaru had made a fire before the darkeness completely swept in. And they both sat beside the Oasis. Shikamaru's clothes were hanging out to dry, only his boxers on; his skin still throbbing from the burn of the sun. Ino wore her purple half tank top and her black undies. The rest of her clothes were hung to dry. After a day of sweating, she needed to wash her clothes.

"Ino, can you give me some ointment?" He asked; his back facing her.

She glanced over his way and instantly noticed the intense burns on his back. They did not look good at all.

"Yeah, I'll give you some." She replied as she went and picked up the ointment for sunburn.

Shikamaru stared at the stars; of course he did not want to look over at Ino's lovely long legs, so he chose to just stare at the stars. He wasn't really a star gazer, but of course on nights he would look up at them. They never really interested him as much as clouds do though. Lost in his thought about how much he had missed his lazy days in Konoha, he forgot about the ointment, or Ino.

Suddenly a chill of medicine came onto the back of his left shoulder blade, and the sensation of soft hands rubbing against his skin. He jerked away from it.

"Ino, you don't have to do that, I can do it." He informed as he attempted to turn around when he was interrupted by her.

"Your back is badly burned. Even though you're smart, I highly doubt you can reach these parts on your back." She spoke as she rubbed the ointment onto his skin.

"Besides." She zipped her head to the side of Shikamaru's shoulder. "What would Temari do if she knew you got all hurt?" She teased and resumed her rubbing.

"Woman, you annoy me. Why do you even think about bringing 'her' up of all things? Talk about the clouds or something." Shikamaru responded.

Ino giggled lightly. "Aww, is someone shy to bring up his 'girlfriend'?" She teased yet again.

Shikamaru snickered. "Don't mess with me Ino. I am not in the mood for all that talk right now."

"Aww, well why not lover boy? You do miss her right?" Ino was pushing his buttons; and she loved it.

"That is none of your concern." Shikamaru was uncomfortable with the idea of bringing up the female from Suna. Of course he had known her for quite some time; and they had been meeting frequently due to the fact she too was an official chunin exam proctor. But nothing has been made official between either of them.

"Shika-kun…" She made her mommy voice as both her hands came to the tip of his shoulder and gripped onto them; her chin resting on his left shoulder. He felt like she was trying to seduce him.

"Ino!" He yelled as jerked away from her. He was uncomfortable; very uncomfortable.

"What? I was just trying to imitate Temari for you, just so you'll feel more comfortable!" Ino explained.

"That is not how Temari acts!" Shikamaru exclaimed as he let her continue her ointment treatment. "She is not that girly."

She smirked; she had struck a chord. "Ok ok… Then tell me, what are your thoughts about her?"

"My thoughts?"

"Yes your thoughts."

He was amazed. She had never been curious about his 'thoughts' before. "You actually want to know 'my' thoughts?" He questioned her.

She giggled. "Duh idiot, of course I care. I just can't imagine you ever liking anyone but clouds." She replied. Her hands were grazing the lower part of his back now, spreading the cream over him like butter on bread. He had a very sexy back. His muscles were toned in every way possible. She never noticed his appeal before; never bothered to care about him in that way actually.

He was just so plain when you first glance at him, but he wasn't ugly either; just plain. She never thought of him as a masculine person either. She always thought of him to be a skinny, scrawny person. This simple little back rub, was proving every idea she ever had of Shikamaru wrong; and even proving herself wrong. He was indeed a man now.

Not a hot, handsome, Sasuke type of a guy; but a guy capable of even turning her on.

"Ino, why do you even want to know about Temari?" Shikamaru asked as he felt her hands move down his chiseled back. Truth be told, her touch was giving him shivers, she knew exactly how to touch him and where. She 'must' be experienced; which did not surprise him.

"Well…" She hesitated; too caught up on his spine line and how it cut through his back seductively. "We're teammates… I would love to try and help you out with romance against girls." She finished her sentence almost halfheartedly.

"I don't want to talk about it." He replied. His mind focused on the sorcery of her touch. To be frank, he didn't even want to think about a woman right now.

"Fine. Have it your way then." Her middle finger traced ever so lightly up his spine toward the base of his neck. He felt goosebumps begin to form on his upper arm; whatever she was doing, she was doing a good job.

Then, she began massaging his shoulders.

"Ino, I can do it myself. You can stop now." He jerked away.

She used her pointing finger and pushed his head harshly before yelling at him. "You're the idiot who thought it was smart to take off your shirt in the middle of a desert!"

He became quite. He knew this was just going to end in an argument that she would have won.

"Now stay still… I need to finish this. You can work on your chest by yourself." She finished.

"Well what about your back? I believe in that barely of a shirt of yours you must have gotten burned too." He spoke.

Ino gloomed over him, her face was straight and emotionless. "You… are not touching me." With that she continued her treatment.

He knew it was going to be a long night and prayed for strength.


	3. Chapter 3

Shikamaru awoke in the middle of the night. The stars were twinkling still; there weren't any signs of the morning yet to come. They better move while it's still cool and dark out. He looked over to the right. Ino was sleeping. Her beautiful long golden tipped eyelashes remained still and unmoving. The firelight danced on her open belly, elegant face, and long luscious leg that formed onto her round bum that was covered by her black underwear. She gently nuzzled her hand which was at the side of her face.

As much as he didn't want to wake her up; he had to. They had to get moving as far as they can before the sun rose.

"Ino. Oi! Ino!" He yelled from across the fire. She stirred lightly, moving her arm away from her face, revealing a deep cleavage.

He tried to pay little attention to it and got up, throwing his blanket onto her.

"Ino! Get up! We have to get moving." He yelled once again as he grabbed his clothes from the string and put them on. Ino remained asleep; only stirring a little as she faced away from him and pushed his blanket off of her.

"Shika…." She mumbled in her sleep.

Shikamaru turned towards her. "Ino, wake up!" He yelled again.

"Harder…" She replied.

Shikamaru froze in his place. _Shika…. Harder? _He thought.

"Ino… wake up." He said again in an angry tone of voice, trying to shun the words away from his mind.

Ino sluggishly got up and rubbed her eyes; still half asleep. "Shikamaru…" She said yawning.

"We have to get moving." He said turning away from her, still blushing. Why would he even care about her dreaming about him? Why has he been thinking about her body nonstop? Perhaps it was a natural male instinct to be attracted to a woman sexually. It wasn't like he was interested into her emotionally.

Sure he cared about her, like a close sister; but these sudden sexual tensions were almost alien to him. He's never been interested in a female's body and Ino knew that. Perhaps that's why she chooses to wear her underwear and skimpy clothing all the time around him; things that made her comfortable.

It never bothered him before about the way she dressed, so why was this different? Was it because they were alone? Was he sexually frustrated with himself? Or was it that she was the epiphany of a Goddess in human form?

"Shikamaru… You're an idiot." She suddenly said as flopped back over and fell back asleep.

Instantly his thoughts about her vanished. She was nothing but trouble; an insecure little brat who cared about nothing but her looks. Sure she was attractive; he never doubted that, but she was just annoying. Like every other girl out there.

"Ino! Get up!" He yelled as he grabbed her arms and shook her. Ino jerked away and stood up, fully awake and aware of his pestering presence.

"Alright you big jerk! I'm awake!" She yelled back as she punched his arm and swiftly turned away. The way she moved was like dancing. Her tush swayed lovingly as she stormed away.

Shikamaru cursed as his affections slowly crept back into his mind. _Why are women so troublesome?_

* * *

The morning was already scorching them. Ino's miracle treatment from last night had already healed his sun burn. It was quite amazing how that ointment worked… or was it her? At least he was better already.

He had concluded that the recent attractions he had been having against his comrade, Ino were due to the fact that she was a girl; and he even had to admit to himself that he was sexually frustrated. He was a virgin of course. No doubt Ino wasn't, she was always constantly swooning over men and 'Sasuke'. There wasn't a problem here but the fact that she was a woman; how troublesome for Shikamaru.

Ino glanced up at him, he had his vest and long sleeved shirt on this time. Not going to make the same mistake he had made yesterday by taking his shirt off in the middle of a desert. Although she hoped he would. His back was definitely a sight to behold; especially that she explored it whole yesterday.

How she just wanted to lay her chest onto it and encircle her arms around his shoulders; leaning her head comfortably on the back of his neck. Something lovers would do. She wasn't afraid to admit it, Shikamaru was sexy.

His face was average, but that was only because he always made a face like he was suffering from constipation. She had seen him smile a few times; well not 'smile' but smirk. He was quite a cocky bastard at those times though, not something she thought was attractive. She eyed him wondrously from behind him. She knew under that vest was a shirt, and under that shirt was a glorious back.

Of course, his chest was a wonder too; but she didn't want to get into that detail.

They both treaded through the sand lazily; not saying much to each other. Shikamaru thought of two particular words though.

_Shika… Harder… _It kept replaying in his head like a circus clown had hypnotized him with rotating ducks. _What in the world was she even dreaming about? What was she even dreaming about me for? _He pondered in his mind. The heat was killing him; but this took the gold, heat from the idea of wet dreams coming from a girl like Ino.

"Ino…" He finally said, regretting the very second her name escaped from his lips.

Ino's head snapped up as she realized he had said her name.

"What?" Was all she could say as she treaded through the blazing sun toward Shikamaru.

"Uh…" He hesitated; wondering if he should just ask her what was it about or just bring up something randomly. "What did you dream about?" He cursed his honesty.

"What?" Ino was surprised. Shikamaru never spoke or talked about dreams, especially in this dying heat that was practically draining them both of their energies. Why would he waste his energy on this? He was too lazy for such sport.

"Nevermind." He replied; trying to cover up his blushing. Thank goodness it was already hot.

"I don't know what I dreamed about." Ino replied.

Shikamaru flinched. "Oh ok then." He finished and sped up more. He never remembered the Suna desert being this hot. They weren't even close to the blowing wind sand yet. That meant they weren't even close. Perhaps it was just a bit of a weather change.

"To think, in a few more hours, you'll get to see your girlfriend!" Ino suddenly says from behind Shikamaru; her breathing raggy.

Shikamaru turns his head toward her as he climbs up a tiny cliff. "Shut up, Ino."

"Aw c'mon Shika-kun, you have to miss her a little." She teased as he climbs up. Shikamaru hands out his hand to help her up the little cliff.

She takes it and pulls herself up and accidently pushes her shoulder into Shikamaru's chest lightly. Suddenly she feels tingly inside; although she didn't even know why. Why would a simple little touch affect her? But then she saw something large behind them.

"Shika…." Her eyes were shot open and standing in fear. "What is that?"

Shikamaru, whom was faced toward her, turned to look at what she was gawking at.

A large sand bear was standing directly in front of them. This wasn't possible though, sand bears never came out during the day time. It was huge; nearly as big as an elephant. It was bleeding from its ears and eyes. Which was extremely strange; it must be sick.

"Ino…" He whispered as he started backing slowly away from the bear while pushing her right behind him. "Be quite and slow, no sudden moments."

Ino said nothing; she just clung onto his arm and began to back up slowly away with him from the bear.

The bear must be blind; it couldn't see them backing away, and didn't hear them for that matter either. He was irritated, and extremely aggressive.

"Ino… Do you see its ears and eyes?" He asked.

"Yes, it looks like its most likely bleeding from the inside out." She replied.

Then a loud strange noise rang from an unknown source. Shikamaru and Ino covered their ears from the atrocious sound and screamed from the pain it was causing them. The bear was no exception; it suddenly whipped into frenzy and ran straight toward the two of them blindly.

Shikamaru had only a second to look up and see the large monster running at full speed into them. He grabs Ino and dives down back under the cliff, saving them both from the monster. The bear's big paws slipped and it fell over; still cringing from the pain.

"What in the world was that?" Shikamaru said as he pushed himself from Ino and looked frantically around for the source of the sound.

The bear was snarling and rolling harshly around. No doubt it was in terrible pain. Ino slowly gets up after Shikamaru and looks over at the tortured bear twitching around in stress and absolute agony. Shikamaru looks at Ino's face sadly. She was almost in tears watching the animal suffer like that. Sand bears weren't known to attack anyone unless provoked. Immediately Shikamaru pulls out his kunai and walks over toward the dying bear.

Ino turns away, unable to watch. Sure, she had seen death before; her sensei, and countless other people they had faced. But this was different; this was torture. Someone had intently done something wrong to this bear. This was awful even for her, a medical ninja.

With a quick hard stab to the bears crown on the head, it died.

Shikamaru looked over to Ino, who was without a doubt crying. Her body jerking from the massive sobs and her voice in agony; even him, a complete slacker couldn't ignore that one of his closest friend was in tears. He walked over to her and held her in an affectionate embrace. Holding her tightly to make sure she knew he was still there.

"Who could have done this?" She asked while sobbing into his shoulder.

"I don't know…" He responded as he ran one hand through her hair and shushing the poor girl. "I don't know Ino."

He glanced back over to the bear. The eyes and ears were bled out; it looked like it was under intense stress. What was even more curious was that the bear showed no signs of it possibly being a captive of some sort.

Ino sobbed violently into his shoulder.

"Who could have done this?" She again repeated.

_Who…_


	4. Chapter 4

When night time came they both needed to find shelter and came to stop at a rock that was not too far away from the deceased bear. Shikamaru had cut up parts of the bear and was getting ready to cook it over an open fire. Ino sat in front of the fire; curled up in a little ball. Still trying to get over the trauma of what had happened to the bear and to them.

"Ino, you sure this bear isn't sick?" Shikamaru asked as he placed it over the fire.

"Yes. It didn't die by any sickness." She answered monotone like. "Everything about the bear was healthy."

Shikamaru sighed heavily and walked over toward the shivering Ino.

"Look Ino…" He got down onto his knees and put both his hands onto her shoulder. "I know, something happened to this animal; but I need you to stay with me here."

Ino nodded as she pushed her bangs out of her face to look at Shikamaru.

Her small face was a complete mess. What were usually pale cheeks with a little blush was dry and red now. Her eyes shone the same beautiful light blue color that capture's someone's mind as it did before; but her eyes were swollen now. Her eyebrows furrowed trying to fight back herself to the same normal Ino she was.

He sighed and brought her back into his arms in another embrace. "Ino… everything is going to be just fine." He assured her.

"Shikamaru… that awful noise…" She suddenly said.

Shikamaru had been thinking about the noise also, it was quite strange to hear it in the middle of a desert, and how it affected them and the bear.

"I think that's what caused the bear to go crazy…" She finished as she pulled away from him looking him in the eye; their faces only five inches away from each other.

He looked deeply into her pale eyes; immediately regretting it for she was looking back at him. There was something about her eyes that made everyone think she could take over their minds in an instant. Of course that was her blood right to be able to transfer minds; but there was something else about them that scared Shikamaru.

They were framed by golden tipped lashes, the very shape of them were almost awestrucking to even stare at. They were the key of seduction for Ino; she could've stolen any man's heart with just a simple little flutter of them.

"Ino…" He whispered as his and her eyes locked onto each other. He was longing for something, and her eyes were telling him the same. Or perhaps it was just the way she looked.

His dark eyes stared back at her. They showed something she had never truly seen in him before. Before she knew it, she was slowly closing the few inches they were apart from each other. Something took control of her for a brief second as the tip of their noses touched.

"Shikamaru…" She said as her hands began to shake.

He was her best friend since her earliest memories. Her father would bring her to play with Choji and Shikamaru numerous times. Why was she doing something like this with a boy she had known like a brother?

_Temari… _She thought suddenly.

She backed away, fully aware of herself now; Shikamaru flinched too.

How could she have forgotten he had feelings for the princess from Suna? She cursed herself in her mind. There was no possible way he could be interested in her. That's right; he was with Temari for crying out loud.

"Shikamaru… The meat you idiot." She finished and punched him on the arm.

Shikamaru laughed; he was cute when he did. He got up and walked over to the bear meat and turned it over. He was taking such good care of Ino; she smiled as she thought about how sweet he had been to her since the bear incident. Holding her and shushing her; she blushed and remembered how he had saved them both earlier. What a guy.

"Troublesome…" He mumbled loud enough for Ino to hear.

Her smile instantly faded and frowned. _Idiot. _She thought to herself as she decided to grace him with her silence for once since he had been working really hard for the both of them.

He walked toward his backpack and threw a blanket toward her; _his _blanket.

"What is this for?" She asked as she smelled it. The blanket smelled exactly like Shikamaru; the musty scent of Shikamaru that reminded her of grass. But this was comforting for her; it reminded her of the daysthey used to spend as children looking at clouds. Of course, she never stuck around for more than two minutes looking at those plain things.

"For you to sleep on; it's getting cold; I don't want you to freeze." Actually he just didn't want to her glorious breasts pushed up against each other like they did the other night. They were sinful.

She smiled and wrapped it around herself. "Thanks… Idiot." She smiled and enjoyed her last word as she flopped over.

"Troublesome…" He replied as he went and checked on the meat.

Ino laid there; watching her male companion work around and organized their things. For a lazy guy, he was on top of his things. He liked baths and showers actually; and wasn't too bad with kids. _He would be a good father. _She thought as she started to feel fatigue. Her eyes slowly began to close.

"Ino, I'm going to find some water ok?" Shikamaru said as he turned back towards her.

She was asleep.

He smiled and walked towards her. Her blonde hair that she let down was covering her elegant face. He ever so gently removed it and placed it behind her ear. She was so beautiful.

_Maybe it's not just simply an attraction _He thought as he stood up and walked away from her.

"Idiot…" She mumbled.

Shikamaru stopped in place and looked back over at the sleeping Ino. _Maybe… Just maybe _He thought as he grabbed the water bottles and sped off to look for any nearby water basins.

* * *

_Something was walking around her…_

Ino's blue eyes instantly shot open; looking around she could see the fire was dimly still lit and the darkness with stars; but no Shikamaru. She slowly raised her head to look around. It was completely pitch dark around her, other than the fire before her.

She clutched onto Shikamaru's blanket and walked over to the fire to put an extra log into the fire. The sparks flew gently around like a little fireflies dancing. She looked back around for the presence she felt earlier.

No use, it was too dark. She inched over to her bag and pulled out her kunai.

"Shikamaru?" She asked hesitantly and looked around to see if anything was still around.

_No answer._

Judging by how dim the fire was a few moments ago, Shikamaru must've been gone for quite some time. Where did he even go? She felt the presence again, lurking behind a rock nearby. Instantly she flung her kunai at the object.

Someone groaned.

"Shikamaru?" She yelled as she ran to see her hurt companion.

As she got close, the loud atrocious sound came back. Deafening her and sending her to her knees forcefully. Her whole entire body shaking violently from the blast of the noise; it was like a knife cutting into her eardrum trying to gauge out her brains for dinner. The noise came in waves.

Then as everything went silent again, her ears were ringing, eyes blurry, and her brain hurt like someone had swung a racket to her head. Before she knew it, she passed out just as she saw a figure of a person stand up from behind the rock she had flung her kunai at.

* * *

Shikamaru came back from his long endured trip to find a water basin. He ended up going back to the Oasis they had visited the night before. As he dipped their containers into the water, he inspected the place they had slept the night before.

There were these undeniable tracks of odd looking footprints nearby. Someone was there recently. Shikamaru shrugged; of course this was possibly the only oasis for miles and miles. Shining his flashlight back at the ground he noted that whoever that had came there had spent quite a number of time there.

As soon as both of the containers had finished filling up he raced back to the camp site where Ino was.

After a good forty minutes or so, he finally made it back to the camp site. From a distance, the fire was hardly noticeable. They hid in a good spot actually.

As he approached he made out a dark figure standing over the spot where Ino would be sleeping. He paused and looked closely at it. It wasn't Ino; but it was definitely someone else. Immediately he started running toward the camp. Pulling out his kunai and readying to protect Ino with his life.

As he came closer the figure began shaping into that of a man. He was tall, and bulky; but no matter, Shikamaru had to save Ino.

"Get away from her you cretin!" He yelled as he jumped up to attack the figure.

He moved away from Shikamaru's attack with ease.

_No good, it's night time. I can't use my shadow stitching on him._ Shikamaru cursed in his mind as he quickly thought of a new attack.

"Shikamaru…" The figure suddenly said.

Shikamaru loosened his stance and looked over everywhere; Ino was gone.

"Where is she?!" He yelled at the stranger.

The man was wearing a dark hooded cloak. So it was extremely hard for Shikamaru to even make out the way he looked.

"Shikamaru…" The figure repeated as he took a step toward Shikamaru.

Shikamaru threw his kunai at the man and watched as he quickly dodged it.

"I said, Where is she?!" Shikamaru repeated as he pulled out his kunai that was attached to a paper bomb.

The man began to take off his cloak and revealed himself.

Kankuro.


	5. Chapter 5

Kankuro stood in front of Shikamaru. He was already injured from someone; he had been bleeding from his leg.

"Kankuro?" Shikamaru asked in absolute confusion.

"Don't worry Shikamaru, Ino is fine." Kankuro answered as he reached his hand out towards the fellow shinobi.

Shikamaru was completely confused. Why was Kankuro here? If Ino was safe, where was she? And why was Kankuro bleeding?

"Kankuro! I found some herbs that can help with y-" Ino suddenly emerged from the darkness with a bundle of plants in her hands. She glanced over at Shikamaru who was standing with a bomb kunai in his hand.

"Ino?" Shikamaru asked as he instantly dropped his guard.

Kankuro sighed from absolute relief that he was no longer in danger of getting attacked by his sister's 'rumored' boyfriend.

"Shikamaru! Kankuro came looking for us and he saved me." Ino replied as she skipped toward him.

"Kankuro?" Shikamaru asked as he tried to sink everything in.

"Shikamaru, just recently, we've been witnessing some unusually strange phenomena's around here." Kankuro informed. "Lately there has been these strange blasts of-"

"Noises?" Shikamaru finished.

"Yes, but we already know their objective and why this is happening." Kankuro added.

"What?" Shikamaru asked completely interested.

"Someone on this desert is using some kind of weapon to neutralize us. We believe it could be a sonar weapon of some sort." Kankuro answered.

Shikamaru pondered this for a while. It was common for other villages to attack the five great nations; but why use this kind of weapon to attack?

"Yes, it is a sonar weapon; but what kind?" Shikamaru asked.

"A really loud one…" Ino interrupted almost idiotically.

The two boys turned slowly and silently toward the female's response. Both of them giving her a blank stare and turning her answer down. It was already quite obvious that the weapon was really loud; and she stated it with such seriousness.

Ino gave them an awkward smile and waved; cringing from their response.

"Well…" Shikamaru interrupts as he slowly turns back toward Kankuro; completely disregarding Ino's comical response. "Have you guys made any recent enemies?"

Kankuro turned back towards Shikamaru also. "No, we've been busy trying to recuperate ourselves since Gaara had become Kazekage."

Shikamaru groaned and rubbed his forehead. This was troublesome indeed for someone even like him. There was no way Ino and he were going to be able to return to Konoha under the conditions Sungakure were under.

Ino watched them quietly as she put the herbs into a medicine bowl and began mashing it with vigor. Shikamaru accidently glances over at Ino; worst mistake ever; she was staring back at him. Her blue eyes sparkling with the fire and sparks that spewed out. Her cheekbones were exquisite tonight. Although he did not know why, she was amazing.

Ino continued to keep the eye contact, waiting for his stare to stray away. To her surprise, it didn't. He just kept staring at her, wide eyed and confused.

"Is something wrong?" She interrupts; breaking the tension between them.

"No." He replied and quickly regained his composure.

Kankuro felt an awkward silence between the two as Ino continued her medicine pounding. He eyed Shikamaru closely; of course, he wasn't one to fret if Shikamaru wasn't interested in his sister. In fact, he was the one who would know exactly why someone wouldn't be interested in her. But this peaked at his curiosity.

"So… Shikamaru…" Kankuro slyly said as he walked over to him and threw his arm over the Konoha ninja. "I need to talk to you about…" He glanced back at Ino who was looking down at the medicine.

"Personal… things." Kankuro finished as he began pushing the ninja with him away from the sight of the other female.

Ino watched curiously as the two walked away. _What are those idiots up to? _She asked in hermind as she began pounding the medicine again. Whatever they were talking about, definitely didn't involve her.

_Possibly Temari… _She thought to herself as she began pounding the medicine harder. In her whole seventeen years of life. There wasn't a man that looked at her way and stayed with her seriously before. All they did was play with her heart and leave her. Of course, she was a smart girl though. Never giving up her body to them was her biggest accomplishment.

They had trampled on her heart and screwed her over countless times; but her body was still hers, and she'd live another day to love again. She smiled as she remembered all the lies she had been told . All the men that said they'd stayed left.

_Except Shikamaru… _Her mind haunted her suddenly.

She halted her medicine pounding and shook her head back to reality. Of course Shikamaru… and Choji; they were teammates after all. They had promised Asuma that they'd never leave each other. This was nothing that meant truly to her heart in reality. They were her 'friends'; she thought as she forced the thought back into the abyss from which it came.

"Shikamaru…" She said briefly before returning to her medical herb that needed to be minced.

"What an idiot…"

* * *

"What are you doing?" Shikamaru asked Kankuro who was obviously trying to get corner Shikamaru with him and himself all alone.

Kankuro was limping from the open wound that Ino had inflicted on him earlier. She took a good shot at the puppet master. Amazing how precise her aim was in the darkness and instance she had when she flung her kunai at him.

It didn't penetrate any vitals; she had flung it to keep the enemy alive for interrogational purposes. _Pretty smart for a woman of her stature. _Kankuro thought to himself.

"Oh, nothing…" Kankuro smiled. "Just thought I'd talk to you about… Temari."

Shikamaru winced as he heard that name.

Temari was a wonderful person, no doubt about that. She was intellectual, and precise about everything she said. Although she was a very harsh person; she seemed to have no trouble in being kind too. She often tried to hide it that she cared, something Shikamaru had always admired about her. Her ideas about life were very much like his actually.

To be frank, she was very much like him. Scratch out the laziness though.

She was an intense strategist and could be able to conduct a whole shinobi fleet if she wanted to. Everything about her fitted in himself perfectly.

He indeed had immense feelings for the kunoichi from Suna. Although he never wanted to speak about it to others due to the fact that he would be the talk of the town to the Konoha 12; and especially due to the doings of that no good Naruto who had spread the rumor in the first place.

He didn't want to tell her how he felt just yet…

Ino though, she was there his whole life. She always understood him in ways no one else can. She knew when he needed help or when he was frustrated with work. She often tried to help him with things, but she was just so naturally clumsy it always never turned out right. She was girly and independable when it came down to a full on fight; or at least he tried not to let her fight at all.

He was afraid she'd get hurt. Afraid that she would disappear just like Asuma did. It wasn't because she couldn't protect herself, but because he was afraid he couldn't protect her. Even as a child he… Wait… Why was he even thinking about Ino at this time?

"Ugh, let's get this over with." Shikamaru groaned; trying to think of anything to erase his female comrade from his mind.

Kankuro chuckled. "Well, someone doesn't like her…" Kankuro teased.

"N-no! I-I just-"

"No, it's impossible to talk about another girl when you're thinking about another." Kankuro interrupted as he removed his arm from Shikamaru's shoulder.

"What?" Shikamaru tried to hide the impossible blush on his face; but it was dark so who would know?

"You think I didn't see the way you were looking at Ino?" Kankuro suddenly brought up; causing Shikamaru to blush even more.

"Ino? Why are you talking about such nonsense? Ino was pounding too loud and I was just irritated." Shikamaru explained. His tone was perfect for a distraction.

Kankuro didn't even believe him for a second.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure you were." Kankuro paused briefly before continuing. "Judging by that look of complete adoration you were giving her."

Shikamaru was good at these mind game trivial things though. He had mastered the attitude of, 'Don't give a shit.' Since the day he was born. He kept his face straight and tone balanced. Even with all the evidence in the world he could lie and hide everything.

"You're stupid Kankuro; a complete idiot that thinks too much." He replied.

That threw Kankuro off for a second.

"I don't want to talk anymore. Let's go." Shikamaru said as he swiftly turned back around while stuffing his hands into his pocket; completely ignoring the limping nosey fool that was behind him.

"But Shikamaru…" Kankuro inched on. "Don't you want to-"

"No."

In defeat he walked silently behind the shadow ninja. He knew something was up. Just didn't know 'what' exactly; but he knew. And he was going to find out one way…

Or another…


	6. Chapter 6

Ino had wrapped the medicine onto Kankuro's leg and performed basic healing jutsu on him before returning to bed. She slept on the other side of the fire from the boys. Just minding her own business and hoping the sound would not return anytime soon to interrupt her dreaming ((of Shikamaru)).

Shikamaru sat up and looked over at the Kunoichi that lay asleep still cuddling onto his blanket. In a way he wished he hadn't given it to her. He could be seeing a whole new world right now if he didn't. But Shikamaru was a good person. He wouldn't torture someone for his own pleasure ((or would he?)).

Kankuro fidgeted with the bandages on his leg. Apparently he had said something to Ino that caused her to wrap it around to tightly; of course still allowing little circulation still flow to his leg. She was a force to be reckoned with.

"Shikamaru, you need sleep before the sun rises." Kankuro informs.

Shikamaru glances over to Kankuro's direction. "Why is it suddenly so hot here?" He asks.

"Yeah, you noticed it too huh?" Kankuro replies. "We think it's because of the sonar weapon also." He concluded.

This sonar weapon was still lurking in the back of Shikamaru's mind. Apparently to the information that Kankuro had given him; the timing of the blasts and how many waves that hit were unpredictable. But if it caused the heat to rise then it has to be some biological weapon. The air must be emitting radiation into the skin, but for that to happen, it has to also affect them by night too if it was radiation. Or does it incubate during the night?

This weapon was causing Shikamaru to have a headache. He didn't like the idea of being stuck in a warzone in another country. This was too troublesome for him to endure. But of course, he would be glad to assist in any helpings to the sand village.

"When did it first hit?" Shikamaru asked.

"About two weeks ago." Kankuro replied.

Shikamaru looked towards the fire. _What happened here? _He thought.

This was troublesome. He didn't want to deal with this kind of thing at this moment at all.

He glanced towards Ino who remained asleep.

She snuggled his blanket like a doll; her chest rising and falling with every breath she took. Her golden lashes remained unmoving, but glistened against the fire as it danced along her delicate face. Her cheek bones glowed, her lips pink and moist, her hair gold… He didn't want her to be put in danger… especially here of all places.

"There's that look again." Kankuro teased.

Shikamaru turned his attention back to Kankuro who was laying not too far away from him.

"Go to sleep fool." Shikamaru replied as he leaned back into the sand. His hand burrowed underneath his head for support.

"Well well well, you seem so un at ease Shikamaru." Kankuro was playing with him; and he knew it.

"Kankuro can you just stop?" Shikamaru groaned angrily.

"Hahaha ok… Goodnight lover boy." Kankuro replied and went to sleep.

Shikamaru laid there; unable to sleep.

Kankuro had informed him of all sorts of things that had been happening. Apparently when it first started the blasts came more frequently. The animals had become useless and irritated. They were sent into shock and horrible convulsions.

This was not what he wanted to hear at all.

Not only did they not know who their enemy was, they didn't know where it was coming from.

Shikamaru couldn't sleep at all tonight. He was probably going to just lay awake.

Minutes passed, hours passed.

Finally as he felt more tired than usual he closed his eyes. He could feel sleep coming on. He liked this feeling. When he gets tired and starts to drift into the world of his mind. Being smart made it more fun to sleep. He would sometimes battle himself at shogi in his head; imagining gameplays and strategical moves to win the other opponent.

Sometimes he would dream about clouds and ponder them in his mind. Sometimes he would dream about his adventures. Many times he would dream about Asuma and his days spent wasting time trying to beat the kid genius he was. Sometimes he would dream about Temari.

But this dream he was beginning to see was much different than the rest he ever had. It was a memory.

* * *

He could see the clouds in his dream; and a little five year old him in the Nara forest. Staring up at the clouds with a baby Rikumaru((A deer from the Nara forest… Narutopedia it.))

He remembered this place the young Nara was at. He always liked this place; even when he was a baby, his father would take him there to gaze at the clouds and herd the deer back to the main watch area. Rikumaru would stay out there with him on days like this.

"_Shikamaru! Come inside!" _His mother called out.

The young Shikamaru groaned and got up sluggishly and walked over to his house where his mother had called him. Perhaps it was lunch time; perhaps it was time for her daily lectures.

As the young Nara approached the door he could hear two men talking inside. One was his father no doubt and the other sounded like Inoichi. He slid open the door and stepped in.

"_Mom, you called?" _The little Shikamaru said.

His mom gleefully turned over to her little boy. Crouching beside him and roughly wiping off the dirt off of his face as he squirmed away.

"_Hold still baby, you're going to meet someone today!" _She explained as she continued her annoying motherly routine.

"_Mom, I'm fine." _The young Shikamaru exclaimed as she kept her torture.

"_Dear, I think he looks fine. Keep that up and he'll be sparkling clean without any eyebrows." _His father casually teased his mom.

"_You be quiet! This is not how any boy of mine will look!" _She lectured Shikaku harshly._ "Now Shika kun… Go say hello to uncle Inoichi." _She instructed as she pushed his little body toward the blonde hair man.

The little Shikamaru walked clumsily toward Inoichi. This wasn't the first time he met him that's for sure.

"_Hey squirt." _Inoichi laughed as he messed with the little Shikamaru's head.

"_Hello Uncle Inoichi Sama." _Shikamaru formally addressed as he glanced at his mother who was making sure he was being kind.

"_Shika kun, you remember the last time we met and I told you I would introduce you to someone very special?" _Inoichi squatted to meet the little Nara kid.

Shikamaru didn't remember any promise like that; but out of courtesy he nodded and smiled; still looking at his mother to see if he was doing anything wrong.

"_Well why don't you go look outside the door Shika?" _His father instructed as he motioned toward the big sliding door to the right of him.

Shikamaru eyed the adults as he walked over to the sliding doors to the backyard.

As he approached he heard a soft little voice trickling outside of the door. It was soft; like a girl and singing a very familiar song he heard before.

He gave the adults one more look before opening it.

The light outside nearly blinded him; he squinted and peered outside.

There before him sat a little girl facing away from him. She was plucking the flowers from their little flower bed. Her short hair was an ash blonde color. She wore a purple strap dress and sang a song very familiar to Shikamaru.

"_Ino. Shikamaru is here." _Inoichi called out to the little girl who was entranced with the little lilies and pansies that his mother planted.

She stood up slowly; still facing the opposite direction. Her frail little body was elegant and the way her dress swooned into place was telling Shikamaru exactly how girl she is.

_How troublesome _The young Shikamaru thought.

But those words were in vain as she turned to face him. Her eyes sucked his soul out.

They were exquisite and beautiful. Even though he was a child he knew what beautiful meant. Her small little face was cute with round plump cheeks. He blushed as she smiled gently at the little Nara and waved shyly at him. She too was blushing.

"_Ino come here and greet him." _Her father called out as he instructed her to come inside.

She walked princess like as she came to the steps to the main door they were standing in front of. Carrying her little bouquet of flowers, she made it up the entrance and looked at the little Shikamaru.

She was extremely cute. Her eyes made it worse, they looked like they could glow in the dark if he put it to the test. Her ash blonde hair was pushed to the side with a single purple pin and she smiled very child like to him.

"_Hello Shikamaru kun." _She said.

The young Shikamaru blushed at the sound of 'kun' coming from a girl that cute.

"_Hello." _Was all he said.

She smiled though, and handed him the bouquet of flowers she was holding.

"_These are for you Shikamaru kun." _She spoke softly and blushed.

He looked at it annoyingly. He didn't mind that she was giving him flowers; but he was a 'BOY'.

He gawked at them for a few seconds before he saw his mother walk into his view from the corner of his eye.

"_Thank you." _He said as he grabbed the flowers from her soft little hands. _"You're very nice."_

"_So are you."_

He looked at her; she looked at him.

And from that little symbolic moment they had in that little instance. He knew she was going to be trouble.

"Shikamaru!" He heard a voice call out from the real world and shot his eyes open.

It was as if time just skipped twelve years ahead; there in front of him were the same pair of eyes that haunted him ever since he was a kid.

'Her eyes.'

Ino Yamanaka's eyes.

"Shikamaru hurry up! We have to get moving." She yelled as she threw his blanket on top of him

He just stared at her. Not moving an inch.

She stared at him; scowling.

_Trouble… Troublesome woman…_


	7. Chapter 7

There seemed to be no end to this heat wave.

Shikamaru walked alongside Kankuro. He just kept an eye on Ino who was not too far from him. She was tired; no doubt. And she kept rubbing her eyes.

"Whoo guys, I don't know about you, but this is quite fun." Kankuro stupidly stated as they kept walking.

Shikamaru glared at the poor make up covered man curiously. _What goes on in his head? _Shikamaru asked in his thought.

Ino didn't say anything, she just kept walking. Kind of odd.

"Kankuro, you're an idiot." Shikamaru stated as they kept walking.

Kankuro laughed loudly and threw his head back in complete amusement. He was probably used to this kind of heat. Living in Suna probably drives people crazy.

Ino just kept walking.

This was odd.

Midday came and they finally came across blowing wind currents. They were finally getting close to Suna.

But the sun still blazed them even in the state they were in.

"Oh my gosh! Why won't this heat just go away!" Shikamaru complained hoping to see any reaction from Ino.

None…

She kept blinking really hard and wiping sweat.

Sunset was not too far from now; still the whole day Ino hadn't said anything to either of the men. In ways Shikamaru could swear he liked it, but he was worried.

"Ino?" He called out.

She turned sluggishly toward Shikamaru. She was squinting her eyes unusually at him; her face was pale. There was something wrong.

"Is something the matter?" He asked concerning her health.

"No… I-I have a headache." She answered and turned back around.

_A headache? _Shikamaru thought to himself. He too had a headache from this intensive heat.

Ino's head had been hurting since she had awoken. There was this unexplainable flashing light she kept seeing in her vision also. This was bothersome for her, the whole day she focused her sights on trying to pinpoint her comrades and not stray too far from them. Her head was pounding and felt dizzy.

She didn't want to alarm Shikamaru or Kankuro of how she was feeling. She didn't want to burden them.

Casually she reached her hand to wipe sweat from her forehead.

None…

It had become a habit of hers to wipe sweat since they came. But why wasn't she sweating?

Her blurry vision made it even more difficult for her to see and focus.

Her head hurt. It hurted really bad.

_Ino, hang in there ok?_ She kept telling herself.

Suddenly she felt a gush from her nose and started to feel extremely dizzy. Her lungs started closing on her and didn't want to expand anymore for breath.

She gripped her head and her feet immediately spun her around. Her eyes were rolling around. She was trying her hardest to regain control. Before she knew it she tripped and fell onto the burning sand.

Shikamaru heard a thump from behind him and turned instantly around.

Ino was laying on the ground; groaning and rolling around.

"Ino?" Shikamaru called out as he ran towards her. "INO!" He called out again as he dropped to her side and picked her up.

Her nose was bleeding and her breathing was in loud obnoxious heaves. She gripped tightly onto his shirt and twisted around kicking.

_Heat stroke?_

"Ino hang in there!" Shikamaru called out as he grabs his container and gives whatever was left in there to her.

She drank nothing.

"Shikamaru?! Ino?!" Kankuro ran hastily toward the pair that was on the ground cringing from whatever Ino was doing.

"Kankuro give me your water!" Shikamaru called out as he snatched the water container and tried to give it to Ino.

Still she drank nothing.

"Ino!" He yelled frantically. He didn't know what to do.

Shikamaru picked her up and began running toward the direction Suna would be in. He didn't say a word to Kankuro who grabbed their things and ran after Shikamaru.

"Ino stay with me." He pleaded as he held her up to his face.

She stopped moving. Completely immobile.

"Shikamaru!" Kankuro called out as he kept running after the Konoha ninjas.

Shikamaru kept running though. He knew Ino stopped breathing; but if he stopped he wouldn't know what to do at all.

_Oh god no! Don't let her die! _He screamed in his head as he felt tears began to swell up in his eyes blurring his vision.

He can't lose Ino; not here; not anytime soon at all!

_Ino! _That name kept replaying in his head as he felt tears flush down his face. For once in his life, he felt completely useless. He felt the emotionless Ino in his arms. Scared; terrified.

_No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no… _Was all he could think of as his legs continued to refuse to give in.

Before long he dropped down to his knees, completely in tears. Loud strange noises kept escaping his mouth as he held his dearest friend tightly against him. Crying loudly. Unafraid of who saw.

Kankuro was long gone behind him.

He curled Ino up against his shoulder and rocked her back and forth. He didn't know what to do.

He can't save her.

"Ino!" He cried as his tears continued to bleed out of him.

"Ino!"

He couldn't stop the tears. She wasn't moving. She wasn't breathing.

"No…" He whispered as he buried his face into her collar bones.

The whisper hurted him even more than his screams did. He just couldn't face it.

He didn't know what to do.

"Ino… stay with me…" He whispered against her.

He didn't know if she was still alive or not. He just kept hoping she was.

He spent what felt like hours in that position; rocking his friend back and forth. Pleading her to stay with him. He hardly even noticed when someone walked over to him.

He didn't care though.

He kept trying to tell himself to get up and run for Suna again. But something in his legs couldn't get up anymore. The part that believed Ino died.

"Oi idiot. Why are you crying out here like some fool who lost his way? That is so unlike you." A very familiar voice called out to him.

Immediately he looked up.

She stood directly above him, smirking down at him like he was some lowly bug. But that overconfident smile was all too familiar.

Temari…


	8. Chapter 8

Before you read:

Sorry for the complete waste of chapter in the last one… I had to think of something for Ino to think about their past… and that was it… and yes, my explanation sucked for that one. I'm not even sure if anyone reads this and yes, there are tons and tons of flash backs…this chapter to be exact is a flashback… and yes! i have fixed the other chapters to stop confusion... to me... i don't know if you guys get wats going on... but i didnt after i read it over on FanFic...

* * *

A little Ino walked into her best friend's room casually; looking at the numerous books lying around slobbisshly; But no Shikamaru.

He must be out in the Nara forest the little five year old thought as she danced her way down the hall and out the door.

She strolled past the numerous shops toward the forest behind the Nara residence. Her short ash blonde hair just kept swaying around as she looked for the little five year old Shikamaru that could be anywhere outside.

"Shika kun!" She called out as she enters the forest.

No response.

"Shika!" She called out again and searched for him.

Shikamaru sat in his favorite spot again, looking at the clouds with Rikumaru. This wasn't too far from his house; so when he heard the little voice called out to him, he purposely ignored it; hoping she would go away.

"Shikamaru Kun!" She called out again.

He flinched, he knew he was supposed to be nice and go to her. But he was so at peace here. Ever since she came into his life she had been nothing but trouble.

Ok ok that was a lie.

She liked to play with Shikamaru, and was extremely nice to him. She played with his hair and shared everything she had with him. They even had occasional sleep overs together also!

"Shika, are you here?!" She yelled out again.

Rikumaru suddenly stirred and looked out to the wandering girl who was stalking around in the forest.

"It's a demon Rikumaru; better not follow her." Shikamaru spoke to the deer who naturally just glared at the little boy in utmost disgust for his mean nature to girls.

"Ok ok ok… I'll go talk to her." Shikamaru replies as he gets up and dusts himself off looking at the direction Ino had gone off in.

"But don't blame me if she bites my head off!" Shikamaru added as he ran toward Ino who had disappeared into the forest.

Rikumaru casually follows the little Shikamaru. Just making sure 'Shikamaru' wasn't the one biting off heads.

"Ino?" Shikamaru called out.

She was gone.

_Probably lost out there in the forest like the little girl she is. _Shikamaru cursed in his mind as he continued to search for her.

"Shikamaru…" A little voice sang to the left of him.

He looked to find a little Ino smiling at him like as if she was up to no good.

"What do you want troublesome woman?" Shikamaru groaned as he shoves his hands into his pockets.

"I am not a trouba-wabba-wabba like you say I am." She repeats in epic failure.

She doesn't even know what the word meant. He was smart, a little too smart for her stature.

"Whatever." He replies as he walks up toward her; her big blue eyes scorching up at him.

She always stole his heart when she did that. It was almost like she was calling him towards her with those beautiful eyes of hers. He was very fond of her actually. He put up with her and she was actually very nice to him.

Whenever he saw her, his heart pounded thrillingly and ached to see more of her every single time she left. Or just her eyes.

But he will never admit it to her that he liked it when she was around.

"I wanted you and me to pl- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH HHH!" She suddenly yells and runs behind Shikamaru pressing herself against him as she turns him forcefully around.

Rikumaru looked straight at Shikamaru confused.

"Ino…" Shikamaru was not amused. She clung onto him and screamed her head off pointing at the strange deer in front of them.

"Shika kun! Make it go away! What is it?" She screamed and clutched onto him.

"Ino… That's Rikumaru." He answered blatantly.

She stops and instantly looks at the baby deer in front of her.

"R-Rikumaru?" She asks.

"Yes, Rikumaru… a deer." He replies and looks apologetically at Rikumaru.

She clutched onto Shikamaru's shoulder even harder; causing the little boy to blush.

"Will he… Will he bite?" She asks and gulps her saliva down.

"No… Rikumaru won't bite. He's nice." Shikamaru replies monotone like and touches the deer to reassure Ino that everything was safe.

She let go of Shikamaru and stood still with both her hands curled up near her chest.

"Give me your hand." Shikamaru instructs as he gently grabs her frail little fingers.

This caused Ino to shudder. She liked it when he tried to be nice to her. He was a cute boy.

But she will never tell him that.

He glides her hands and strokes one of her fingers on Rikumaru's nose bridge. Ino smiles and looks at Shikamaru happily. Shikamaru's heart sank three hundred feet under with the little smile she gave him. She was so cute.

"INO! SHIKAMARU! IS EVERYTHING OK?" Shikaku suddenly calls and appears out of nowhere. Worry was written all over his face as he found the two of them with Rikumaru.

"What happened Shikamaru? I heard Ino screaming!" Shikaku examines the both of them thoroughly.

"Ino saw Rikumaru and got scared." Shikamaru answered lazily.

Shikaku let out a sigh of relief as he instructed the two to head back to the residence.

"Shika kun… Let's play House!" Ino exclaims and strolls back with him.

"House?" The little Shikamaru was confused.

"Yeah! Like I'm the mommy and you're the daddy!" She explains.

Immediately Shikamaru felt sick in his stomach. The words, mommy and daddy didn't fit too well for him.

"Please?" She pleaded with the big eyes of hers.

"Uh, ok then." He agreed.

"Yay!" She declares and grabs his hand and runs to the play area.

She climbs onto the platform and grabs some woodchucks and sets them down.

"Pretend like you're coming back home from work." She explains.

_This isn't playing if you're telling me what to do. _Shikamaru thought in his head as he pretends to open a door.

"I'm home Ino…" He lazily says.

"No! Call me Hunny!" She yells from on top of the platform.

Shikamaru rolls his eyes and repeats the same motion.

"I'm home Hunny." He calls out.

The little Ino's face beamed up. Her cheeks red and plump as she walks down from the little platform she was on.

"Welcome home hunny! Food is ready!" She happily exclaims and leads him to the pile of woodchucks she had laid out before.

Shikamaru sticks out his tongue in disgust.

_I am definitely not making you a wife._ He thinks to himself.

"Can we do something else?" Shikamaru complained.

"Like what?" Ino asks.

"I don't know." Shikamaru answered.

"Hmm…" Little Ino puts her finger on her chin and thinks. "Well I heard Mommies and Daddies kiss!" She instantly brings up.

"Kiss?" Shikamaru asks.

"Yeah, Kiss; that's what dady calls it." She recalls.

Shikamaru gave her a blank stare.

"You don't know what a kiss is?" He asks.

"No. Why?" She replies.

"Why don't you know what a kiss is?" He asks again.

She looks at him in confusion. "I don't have a mommy."

He instantly looks up at her. He felt sad for her. True, little Ino's mother died at child birth and he felt utterly pitiful for her. He couldn't help but feel like she needed to know what a kiss was.

"Ino…" He sighed. "Close your eyes."

"Why?" She asks.

"I'm going to show you what a kiss is." He replies as he scotches closer to her.

"Why do my eyes need to be closed?" She asked.

"I don't know. They just do." He replies.

"… Okay…" With that she closes her eyes.

Shikamaru leans in and gently puckers out his lips toward the little Ino.

"EWWWWWW! SHIKAMARU IS GOING TO KISS A GIRL!" A voice called out of nowhere.

Shikamaru pulled away and looked for the source of the voice. There stood a gang of four boys from the preschool looking and pointing at him.

_Children. _He thinks to himself as Ino opened her eyes and looks over at the four boys.

"Shikamaru! You're gay! You were going to kiss a girl!" One of the boys called out.

_Technically, I'm not gay. _Shikamaru again groaned in his head. The idiocy of children his age made him hate hanging out in the open.

"Shut up! He's a daddy and I'm a mommy! We have the right to kiss!" The little Ino yelled at the boys.

They all started laughing hysterically at the little Ino's response. Shikamaru turned away, blushing out of embarrassment. The bigger boy marches over to Ino and pinches her harshly.

"Ow!" Ino cries out as she slaps him.

Shikamaru instantly felt a burn in his stomach. He hated it that the little boy had hurted Ino.

"Leave her alone!" Shikamaru pushes the other boy onto the ground.

"Shikamaru?" Ino was shocked by the sudden strength in him.

"Get him!" The boy on the ground yelled out as the other three rushed in and started beating and pummeling the poor little Shikamaru.

"No! Get your hands off of him!" Ino yelled as she swung her tiny fists at the boys.

One of the boys pushes her onto the ground. Shikamaru instantly shot up and sent a sucker punch to the boy's chin. His mouth was bleeding and began to have a black eye already.

"Tie him up!" The leader called out as he brought out a rope.

"No!" Ino cried out as she pushed him down.

She instantly felt a sting onto her face as his hands slapped her. With that she laid on the ground unable to do anything but watch the torture they were going to inflict on Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru…" She whispered as she watched them tie him up and take turns beating him.

They swung mercilessly at the five year old Nara. Tears were welling up in her eyes; she felt useless and stupid. Just sitting here watching those bullies push Shikamaru around when he tried to protect her.

She couldn't protect him.

"No!" She screamed as she flung herself onto Shikamaru. Shielding him with her own body as they kept swinging. She squeezed her eyes shut; hoping they would stop soon. Hoping this was just a dream.

After a few more beatings they left. Leaving the tied up Shikamaru and crying Ino on the playground.

Ino's tiny hands found their way to untie the rope. Shikamaru sat there, his nose bloody and left eye swollen and black. He had a couple cuts and bruises all over him. But none of them hurt as much as seeing them on Ino.

She was bleeding from the mouth. Her upper cheek was red and swollen. She had numerous bruises all over her body. Her face was in tears.

"Ino…" He wraps his arms around her. Trying to comfort her.

"Hunny…" She replies sorrowfully. "Stay with me…"

Shikamaru managed to smile at the sound of 'Hunny' being called his name at this time.

"Why'd you protect me when I was trying to protect you?" He asked; his pride was hurt.

She looked up at him. Her blue eyes still tearing and flowing like no other.

"It's what mommies do. She protects you." She answered.

Shikamaru looked at the little Ino. Completely in tears at what she had said.

"I take it back Ino. You make a perfect mommy." He said crying and cringing at the very sound of her answer. "I don't care if I'm gay. I love you."

With that he swooped in and kissed her little lips.

They were soft and he took in every one of her little whimpers. He was going to take away the pain away. He didn't want her to be alone anymore. He regretted everytime he ignored her.

He pulled away from her; tasting her blood on his lips. "One day Ino, I'm going to make you a mommy one day! I swear it!"

She cried even harder now. It wasn't that she was happy either. In fact she looked like she was crying even harder now.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I didn't close my eyes…"


	9. Chapter 9

_Before you read: YAY! I finally updated! Sorry… umm I kinda had trouble with internet so I couldn't update for a while…. And YES! I have updated with new chapters! YIPEE! Please bear with the story… I know I really suck at literature… I can't do much on that part… __ English is my second language and so on so forth… so I'm trying to make it better __ but enjoy… I am also writing "Mom" So I will update that later on…_

* * *

_Present_

"Ino?" A familiar voice called out to the sleeping Ino.

Her eyes fluttered a few times before remaining still again.

"Ino, you ok?" The voice continued.

She stirred lightly. The essence of her long forgotten memory began to inch away from her dream as she began realizing, it was only a dream. Her childhood was mostly a blur because she didn't like to think back on the past that much; it bothered her in many ways. All the mistakes she had made and all the people she lost.

"Ino." The voice called out again.

_It sounds a lot like a girl… An annoying one… With a big forehead… _She thought to herself as she opened one eye to the blinding light.

"S-Sakura… Is that you?" She asked as she began to lightly move around; adjusting her eyes to the light coming from the ceiling.

_A ceiling?_

Ino immediately shot herself up and looked around. She was in a hospital bed.

"Ino! You're okay!" The person next to her screamed and hugged Ino viciously.

Ino only had a second to look and see the person's bubble gum pink hair flying towards her. It was Sakura.

"Sakura!" Ino exclaimed as she hugged long missed rivaled kunoichi from Konoha. "Oh my gosh why are you here?"

"Stupid! Everyone except Shino is here! We all came to assist Suna!" Sakura informed as she pulled away from Ino.

"Everyone?" Ino asked.

Sakura only smiled in return to the blonde. Her light green eyes beaming at Ino.

"Oh Ino… You're alive." Sakura said as she held Ino in another embrace. Only this time it was softer and more affectionate.

Ino smiled on Sakura's shoulder. She hated her actually; ok, that was a lie; but Ino was competitive against Sakura. Ino had a ton of respect for Sakura; she was stronger and faster than Ino could ever be. They both had a mutual respect for each other. They hate and loved each other like sisters. In fact people can even say they might be.

"Yes, Sakura…" Ino replied.

Then she suddenly remembered.

"Wait, I was out in the desert with Shikamaru and Kankuro! How did I get here?" She asked and pulled away from the pink haired kunoichi.

"I don't know. I think Temari and Shikamaru brought you here and did an emergency medical treatment on you." Sakura informed.

Ino sucked everything in. She was finally in Suna, and had lived another day because someone else had to save her. She hated it that she was weak; not just physically but emotionally too.

"Temari and Shikamaru?" Ino repeated in a question.

"Yes… Temari and Shikamaru." Sakura repeated after Ino.

Ino felt her heart tear apart. _Shikamaru is with Temari again… _She thought sadly to herself. She always hated it when Shikamaru was with Temari. They looked so flawless together. Actually, they looked PERFECT together! It always killed her inside when she saw them together.

Not because she was jealous or anything, but that she wished she could find someone who completed her too…

"Sakura, how is Ino?" Naruto's voice carried in as he popped his head into the room.

Ino looked curiously at the fox boy. He gave a blank expression shortly before beaming like the idiot he was.

"OH MY GOSH! EVERYONE! INO'S AWAKE!" He yelled loudly and turned into the hallway.

Before Ino could scold the loud mouthed blonde about his obnoxious behavior, the rest of Konoha 12 came rushing in.

"Ino! You're okay!"

"Oh Ino we thought you were a goner!"

"Ino!"

"Ino!"

"Ino!"

They all started to surround her like kids at an icecream truck. Hinata and TenTen threw themselves on her while the boys just stood around asking her if she was fine and alright. Everyone seemed so worried; _they actually care… _Ino happily thought as they continued to surround her.

She searched the crowd for a familiar face. _His _face.

To her disappointment, he wasn't among the group.

"Ino, Are you okay?" Kiba asked.

"Um, yes." She answered.

"Ino! We came right after we found out you were in the hospital… is everything alright?" Her teammate Choji approached.

He was a welcoming sight. She had missed the big guy and his horrible eating habits since they had left Konoha for Suna. It seemed like it has been forever since they've been traveling.

"How long was I sleeping?" Ino asked curiously.

"For three days." Someone announced.

Everyone including Ino turned to look at the source.

Shikamaru stood by the doorway; leaning against the opening with his hands in his pockets. He looked so fucken cocky; it was so like Shikamaru.

Ino's heart jumped, she could feel the eyes of the room looking at them both. Her hands began to feel tense. Why was she feeling this way? It was only Shikamaru. Was it because of her memory of their childhood?

"Hey troublesome woman, the next time you decide to almost die on me, be sure to tell me ahead of time that you were dehydrated and having minor signs of a heat stroke." Shikamaru lectured from across the room. His face was serious. It wasn't a good sign at all.

Ino cocked her eyebrow. His attitude did not make her happy at all. First she had a wonderful dream about them and now he's being a dick.

Although it was her fault that she almost died he didn't need to be so hard on her. Either way, even if she did tell him that she was beginning to feel sick there was no way in stopping the heat stroke. They were stuck in a desert with no shelter after all.

"I am not a trouba-wabba-wabba like you say I am." It was all she thought of to say.

_Well that was stupid. _She immediately cursed her memory for reappearing when what she really needed was a good comeback.

Shikamaru's stare of death began to falter. He remembered those words. She said those exact words perfectly. His memories of that day began to rush back into his head like it was trying to tell him something.

Ino saw his face turn soft. _Did he just…?_

"Whatever." He replied.

This was an exact replay of that moment they had shared in the forest so many years ago.

The crowd around them started to feel a strange and awkward tension between the two quarreling comrades. Sakura just looked back and forth trying to think of a way to break the way everyone was feeling in this short conversation they were having.

"So Ino…" Sakura managed to say. "Why don't we go out for some dangos right now?"

Ino looked at Sakura who was smiling awkwardly at her.

"Um, sure… Let me get out of this first." She replied and hopped out of the hospital bed.

Her feet began to stumble as she rocked uneasily back and forth; trying to regain balance. Everyone leaning out a hand to help her up.

"No… I got this." She informed as she walked toward the door Shikamaru was standing in.

Her steps felt like she was walking on air. It was uncomfortable and strange, she had never been out for this long before.

_I got this… Ino you got this.._

Clumsily she tripped over her own foot and flew forwards.

Shikamaru reacted faster than she expected. He instantly grabbed her and pulled her up towards him; clutching onto her protectively.

Ino looked up at him daringly. He was staring right back at her; his lips only an inch away from hers. He was blushing, and so was she. Who wouldn't?

"Ino… are you okay?" Shikamaru managed to ask.

Ino was in a trance, he was so handsome. He held her affectionately with one arm on the small of her back and the other caressing her hand; his eyes never straying away from hers. His and her chest pressed tightly against each other. Both knowing that they were only separated by a few layers of clothes.

"Uh… I suppose so…" She replied after sharing a few hot breaths against his lower chin.

Her eyes were beautiful; alluring him to her almost. Her breasts in the thin hospital wear were pushed up firmly against him. Thank Kami he had worn a shirt even in this dying heat. If he wasn't he would have caressed them within his palms already. But he was a gentleman. He can't do that to his own teammate.

He abruptly let her go and watched her stumble a little before regaining her balance again. She was so cute like this; like a little girl learning how to walk again. She took a few more steps and managed to walk past him.

"Troublesome…" He mumbled just to bother her.

She turned her attention angrily at Shikamaru. He always liked it when she gave him that look; most times he would avoid such a sport with her, but she had been MIA since her heat stroke. He missed her constant nagging sometimes and her look of absolute agony around him.

He missed her…

"Idiot…" She replied as she grabbed the walls and scrambled away before he could say anything to her.

He just laughed and watched her go slowly.

_Jerk… _She cursed in her mind as she strolled away.

"Ino, wait for me!" Sakura exclaimed as she sat up and ran after Ino and past Shikamaru. Everyone got up and followed after Sakura; Shikamaru being the last to leave the room.

_Toublesome woman…_


	10. Chapter 10

"Oh my God this is delicious!" Ino exclaimed as she chewed the many pieces of meat laid out before her.

After being out cold for three days she was hungry; and during the trip she hadn't even eaten a decent meal since they left Konoha.

Actually she was only eating because she wanted to get that 'idiot' out her mind.

After she had dressed in her normal attire and regained her balance in walking again, he left saying he needed to meet up with Temari. She was a bit furious about the idea of him and the Suna girl together again. But why should she be? Was it because as a child he had promised to make her a mother one day? Or was it because of something else?

She never liked feeling like this; especially about her own teammate Shikamaru. He's always been lazy and irresponsible when she needed him the most. He was also sexist.

He was once such a nice boy to her as a kid. Sure he called her troublesome and didn't want to play with her all the time, but he protected her a lot and stood by her side. So why was he so different now? Why were they so distant now?

She used to be such a nice girl; what had gone wrong? She just couldn't remember why everything between them had disappeared. Now they're stuck in a love/hate relationship.

Perhaps he grew out of the phase of hanging out with girls and she decided to play with other girls like Sakura.

_Yeah, that's what happened_. She thought and reassured herself as she chewed on a jerkey.

"Ino you might have to slow down." Said Naruto.

Ino looked up at her surrounding comrades; All looking at her like she had gone crazy.

"Why? Am I doing something I shouldn't?" Ino asked as she took another bite.

Choji was nearly in tears trying to refrain himself from touching the feast for one in front of him. This meal was for Ino and Ino's alone. So he had to use any will power he had to cease his appetite and smile for Ino'sake.

"No, its just…" Sakura answered. "Well we're a bit worried you might choke that's all."

"Why would I do that?" Ino asked as she bit off another chunk of jerky.

"Well you're eating like a pig Ino. I guess that really suits your name after all." Kiba stated.

A vein in Ino's head popped.

_Pig?_

"Yeah Ino, you're really pigging out! Even worse than Choji!" Naruto added.

_Choji?_

"You might need to slow down Ino; or you might have to work out with me later to put off all that fat that you could be gaining." Lee added.

_Fat?_

Ino just stood up and smiled at the boys kindly.

"Why… Thank you for your concern." There was a hint of murderous intent in every syllable spoken.

"Ino… Are you o-" Naruto started to say before Ino sent a swing into his jaw and the rest of the insulters for their rude comments.

"Hmf." Was all she said as she dusted her hands and noted a job well done from her.

Everyone just watched the cringing fools on the ground as they squirmed in agony from Ino's sucker punches; amazing that they even survived.

"Ino… you seem troubled." Sai said from behind the rest of the crowd.

Ino turned her attention to the beautiful guy. He always spoke with such grace and perfection. He even looked like Sasuke; which was a major plus in her dictionary. He sat there just smiling creepily at her.

"Troubled? Not at all Sai!" Ino replied happily as she instantly masked herself with a perfect smile.

Sai just stared blankly at her.

"They say that if someone is troubled by something, they tend to take it out on others." Sai added on.

Ino just gave him a questioning look.

She wasn't bothered by anything at all. Ok that was a lie, but she didn't think it would cause such tensions between her and her comrades. In fact, this was how she normally treated her comrades. But she did put too much force into their beating she had to admit that.

"Oh well…" Ino sweated and scratched the back of her head nervously.

Sai gradually grabbed a piece of paper from his bag and handed it to her. Ino looked at the paper curiously before she grabbed it out of his hands. It looked like a list of questions that were unanswered.

"I once read in a book that if you are troubled by something then it's best to write them down and cope with it later on." Sai informed as he watched the blonde inspect the paper thoroughly.

There were questions about things that bothered her; just random questions that relate to the answerers. She didn't need this though so why was he offering it to her?

"Why thank you Sai." Ino smiled as she folded the piece of paper and stuffed it into her pocket.

Sai just smiled in return; even though he was so handsome, he had a creepy ominous feeling about him. Like whenever he smiled like that it made everyone including her feel awkward. It was a fake smile but he still intends to use it.

"Well how about we finish this meal?" Ino said happily as she turned her attention back to the food.

IT WAS ALL GONE!

She looked around frantically for any trace of what had happened to her feast and how did it all disappear in no time. But there was no point trying to hide it.

Choji had eaten everything and every crumb there was.

* * *

Shikamaru sat in the doorway to the Kazekage's building; his hands in his pockets as he stared at the hazy sky above him. There weren't clouds in Suna; but it was still nice to look at the sky from this alien terrain. He always felt calm no matter what or where he was when he looked up. The sky always seemed to calm him in every situation.

He gradually sighed and pulled out his container to drink some water.

"Oi idiot." A voice interrupted.

Shikamaru lazily passed his gaze over to the source.

"Oi Temari, that meeting was long." Shikamaru complained as he scratched the back of his head.

"Well trying to speak to the elders about battle strategies always takes a long time." She informed as she strolled toward him.

Her shoulder length hair was tied up firmly into four pony tails that swayed gently with the oncoming wind and her clothing attire was a simple black kimono top like she always wore. She gave him that smirk that he always longed to see; the smirk that tells him exactly how troublesome she is. In some ways he enjoyed it.

"Well let's get moving then." Shikamaru said as he walked alongside her.

She scotched a little closer to him and walked with him toward the restaurants up ahead.

"I heard Ino has awoken." Temari brought up.

"Yeah." Was all Shikamaru said as he tried to get that dumb girl off his mind.

She always had ways of playing mind games with him even when she wasn't around. This always bothered him because lately they weren't pleasant thoughts. He didn't like thinking that way about women. He was perfectly fine with the idea of them being troublesome and nosey.

"Well looks like someone's happy!" Temari teased.

Shikamaru grimaced as she nudged him with her elbow; trying to inquire something between the two of them.

"Temari… Stop." Shikamaru said as he scooted away from her.

"Aw what's wrong lover boy?" Temari went on.

Shikamaru turned away from her. _Why do these women always thinkI like the other? _Shikamaru questioned in his mind aggravatingly.

"Stop." Shikamaru said.

"C'mon, you have to at least be happy she's back; especially since you were crying like a baby holding her in your arms asking her to stay with you." Temari teased on as she nudged him again.

Shikamaru blushed. True he had done that, but he was worried about Ino; that was all. He didn't want her to die because he wasn't able to protect her from a heat stroke. But why did it have to be Temari that saw it? He didn't want her getting the wrong idea between Ino and him.

"Stop." Shikamaru replied lazily.

Temari smiled mischievously; she had struck a chord.

"Oh well… It seems lover boy here doesn't want to talk about it." She inched on.

"Temari… Stop. I'm serious." Shikamaru replied.

"THAT WAS EXACTLY WHAT I THOUGHT TOO!" Kankuro suddenly blasted as he came out of one of the restaurants.

Shikamaru face palmed himself half-heartedly. To be stuck in a conversation about him possibly being in love with Ino with the two worst candidates felt like karma was out to get him. He liked Temari. Ino was out of the question.

"Really? What happened that made you think like that?" Temari asked her little brother.

Kankuro smiled, he loved to tell stories.

"Well, when we were out in the desert. We-"

"SHUT UP!" Shikamaru yelled as he smacked Kankuro.

"Ow…" Kankuro groaned as he rubbed his head.

Temari looked curiously at the shadow ninja. This peaked her interest.

"Oh I see…" Temari smiled and quirked one of her eyebrows.

"You see what?" Shikamaru asked as he noted her obvious plotting written all over her gorgeous face.

"You're in love with Ino." She smiled and inched closer to him.

"W-What?" Shikamaru blushed.

"What? Really? I never knew that." Naruto's voice rang out from behind him.

_Oh God. Oh no. _Shikamaru cursed as he slowly turned to see an on looking crowd staring straight at the three of them.

Ino… was among them.


	11. Chapter 11

"That idiot!" Ino yelled as she kicked over one of the barrels.

Sakura sweated a little as she watched the blonde throw her tantrum at the numerous harmless barrels surrounding them.

"He could've said something! But NO!" She continued as she kicked another one down.

"I-Ino I think…" Sakura started to say before Ino shot a cold stare at her direction.

Sakura's gaze faltered and Ino again began wreaking the barrels once more.

"He could've…. URGH!" Ino's blood curling scream could be heard all the way from Konoha even.

Sakura had no idea why Ino was angry. All that was said was the possibilities of Shikamaru being in love with her; but there was no reason to be mad. Sakura sure doesn't get mad when Naruto confesses that he's in love with her.

"Ino probably you're taking it the wrong way… Love is a good thing." Sakura continued.

Ino furiously glared at her once more before kicking down another barrel.

"That is EXACTLY why I'm angry!" Ino screamed and sent one of the rummage flying into a wall.

TenTen and Hinata strolled by to see what the commotion was about. It seemed even Sakura's pep talk with Ino wasn't working. She was furious; and no one even knew why.

Her hair shook violently as she pounded her feet on top of an apple. They could hear indecipherable mumbles and grunts coming from the enraged girl as she continued to destroy everything around her.

"Um… Uh… I-Ino?" Hinata finally spoke as she twiddled her fingers against each other; her eyes refusing to look up and make eye contact.

Ino instantly felt a little calmer. She can't be mean to Hinata; she's too harmless and gentle to deserve something like this from Ino.

"W-Why are y-you so… so a-angry?" Hinata finished.

Ino groaned heavily before plopping herself on top of one of the fallen barrels.

"He's not in love with me…" She finally admitted.

The three girls stared dumbfound at her.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"I said he's not in love with me." She sighed and brought her chin to rest on her hands. "He's in love with Temari…"

"Temari? That girl?" TenTen asked almost appalled by the idea of Shikamaru and Temari being together.

Ino looked up sadly at the three girls who were watching her every move. They all looked apologetically at her; which made her feel awkward in discussing this topic with them.

"Ino…" Sakura sadly said as she slowly squatted down to Ino's level.

Ino looked up at the pink haired kunoichi.

"Are you in love with Shikamaru?" Sakura asked.

Something in her heart jumped at the sound of her being in love with Shikamaru; but she quickly replaced it with a scrunching face and words that would throw off the very idea.

"Oh hell no!" Ino said disgustingly.

Sakura and the two girls all became even more confused. If she wasn't in love with Shikamaru then why was she so angry?

"I just don't want anything jeopardizing our teamwork. We're both ninjas so we should both act and work accordingly. I only became angry because I expected him to say something to back it up that our relationship is nothing but mere teammates and nothing more." Ino answered their silent questions and got back up.

_Out of all people… Ino is the one worried about how people will see her and Shikamaru together. _Sakura rolled her eyes at the thought. Never before has Ino ever cared about something so trivial as relationship statuses. The only person she wanted to be with was Sasuke and Sai. That was all Sakura could remember.

_And since when did Ino ever care about teamwork?_

"UGH!" Ino yelled again as she kicked another barrel.

"Ino… You're just overthinking this situation." TenTen blurted as she laid one of her hands onto Ino's shoulder.

"I'm not TenTen. I've had it with that idiot!" She swore as she stormed out of the room of barrels and into the open street again. Naruto and the boys were all gone.

_He probably left with Temari… _Ino thought to herself as she walked away from the scene while the other three girls followed her.

"Ino… maybe you should go rest some more. You had a heat stroke three days ago…" Hinata suggested quietly.

Ino liked the idea of resting; probably a hot bath or something.

"Yeah I guess you're right Hinata. Let's go to an onsen. I wonder if they have any here…" Ino said quietly to herself.

"Why of course we do." Temari's voice sprang up from beside them.

Ino's attention turned toward the blonde kunoichi standing next to a dango stand.

Ino had never really spoken to Temari before, the only times they ever even acknowledged one another was when Shikamaru took Temari around town and they would accidently bump into her on certain occasions. Other than that they hardly spoke when Shikamaru wasn't around.

The only time Ino had ever spoken to Temari when Shikamaru wasn't around was when Temari would ask to see where Shikamaru could be. They hardly even had a conversation going.

"Would you like to go to one? I would love a hot bath right now." Temari just invited herself.

Of course this didn't bother Ino. It was just surprising to see Temari actually wanting to do something with Ino and the other Konoha girls.

"Yeah, Sure! We would love it!" Sakura answered happily.

Temari smiled in return and walked toward the group of girls.

"So… where is this Onsen?" Ino asked as she gave a friendly smile.

"Follow me." Temari replied happily as she led the way.

* * *

Shikamaru pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

He only smoked when he was stressed out or wanted to think. This occasion was necessary though.

Just moments ago Temari; the woman he truly cared for; had mistaken that he was interested in his comrade.

He took a puff and let the nicotine sink in gradually while rubbing his forehead.

How was he going to explain this to Temari? He wasn't ready to confess that he loved Temari. He wasn't ready for a relationship yet.

"You don't look too well pal." Choji interrupted his train of thought.

Shikamaru lazily looked over at Choji who was sitting next to him. He stuck his hands into a bag of chips and put a potato chip in his mouth.

"I can't understand women." Shikamaru groaned.

Choji smiled and scoffed a little at the idea of Shikamaru being intimidated by a woman.

"C'mon Shikamaru… Don't let this get to you. Women are troublesome remember?" Choji reassured his troubled friend.

"You got that right." Shikamaru agreed.

After Ino had her heart attack he stayed in the hospital with her every minute he could. He never spent a moment without her on his mind. He would her hand when he slept to make sure she didn't just die in her sleep.

Even when the doctors had told Shikamaru that her heart had stabilized he refused to leave. He worried constantly about her. He was sure to scold her when she awoke so she would know next time that he cared deeply about her.

But things didn't turn out too well.

"You know what Shikamaru? I thought you actually liked Temari." Naruto said as he leaned over to look at the shadow ninja.

Shikamaru glanced over at Kankuro who stood only a few feet away; grinning and waiting on Shikamaru's reply.

_Stupid troublesome women and their brothers. _Shikamaru cursed in his thought.

"You know Shikamaru, if I didn't know better… I think you might have a thing for blondes." Kiba added as he smirked along with Kankuro.

Kankuro and Kiba were like best friends sometimes. They both had cocky attitudes and liked to play tricks on people.

Naruto stared at Kiba horrified at what Kiba had said, for he too was a blonde.

"Kiba! Don't say things like that!" Naruto exclaimed and shook his fists furiously at the dog trainer.

"I never knew Shikamaru was into penises." Sai added as he smiled.

Choji and Shikamaru heard a suspicious hurl come from Neji and Lee's direction. To their surprise it looked like Neji was the one who was disgusted.

"Sai you dumbass! It's only you who is into penises!" Naruto yelled at his male companion.

Sai just smiled in return at the blonde boy.

"It doesn't matter if he's into penises or blondes!" Lee yelled enthusiastically. "What matters is he has the great power of youthful love on his side! And he shall fight for it!"

Shikamaru pinched the upper bridge of his nose. The commotion and energy the boys had was too troublesome for him to keep up with.

"Well Shikamaru… we are waiting for your reply." Kankuro reminded.

Shikamaru looked up lazily at the sand ninja who was just trying to get answers out of him.

"I have no interest in answering you or your dumb questions." Shikamaru replied.

There was a long silence between them all.

Kankuro was still looking curiously at Shikamaru; as if still waiting for an answer that even he knew would not come.

"So Shikamaru…" Sai suddenly spoke; breaking the long dragged out silence between the boys.

Shikamaru looked over at Sai. Sai never realy spoke to him, the only time Shikamaru had ever heard about Sai was when Ino would go gaga over him.

"Are you interested in penises?"

Shikamaru had no desire to answer such a question.


	12. Chapter 12

Ino dipped her feet into the warm pool of water. The heat sent thrilling sensations into her spine. It tickled her lightly and she managed a smile as she slowly dipped the rest of her leg into the pool. Her long pony tail was tied tightly into a bun now and her body was covered with a towel; only revealing her long luscious legs. She slowly settled herself into the hot bath and enjoyed the feel of the warmth trickle up her upper arm.

She smiled as she inhaled the moist warm air.

Even though Suna's temperatures were excruciatingly hot; this was a nice experience.

The other girls came shortly after Ino had settled herself in and dipped in also.

"How is the water Ino?" Sakura asked as she inspected the water.

"Nice…" Ino replied in a lull.

Ino briefly looked up to see Temari settle into the hot bath herself.

Temari's body was amazing. Every curve was sensual and playful. Her usual four pony tailed hair was now tied into one bun now with her bangs also pinned up. Her cheek bones glowed with the light of the bath house and moisture from the air. Her breasts butt and legs were all finely shaped and plump. It just wasn't fair for a girl who never tries, to be blessed to look that good.

But Ino's thought if Temari looking good vanished when she glanced over at Hinata; who had an even more wondrous body.

"So, what do you think?" Temari asked cockily.

"Ah! This is perfect! Exactly what a girl needs!" TenTen exhaled as she settled inside the water.

Ino smiled and dipped her chin slightly into the water.

"This is heaven." Ino replied lazily.

Her crystal blue eyes trailed up Temari's long and luscious figure again.

_Perhaps Shikamaru has seen her like that before. _Ino thought to herself as she continued to rake her eyes over the other blonde.

Temari noted that Ino was watching her and made eye contact with her.

"Is something the matter?" Temari interrupted.

Ino's eyes finally averted and she stood up straight.

"No, it's just… uh… you hardly ever hang out with us." Ino replied.

"Yeah, you're always with Shikamaru when you're in Konoha." Sakura added.

Temari laughed.

"I'm always with him because Tsunade always assigns him with me." Temari replied as she laughed at the responses from the other girls.

Sakura glanced over at Ino who was watching Temari with sad eyes. She knew something was up. Her old friend was hiding something from everyone and possibly… even herself.

"So Temari, are you interested in anyone?" Sakura asked curiously.

Ino jerked slightly and settled back into the water; pretending not to have any interest in the topic or idea.

"What? Interest?" Temari asked; surprised at the sudden curiosity.

TenTen and Hinata instantly picked up on what Sakura was doing. They had to play along.

"I was always curious myself!" TenTen proclaimed happily.

"M-me too…" Hinata added shyly as she pricked her fingers together.

Temari was a bit amazed that the Konoha girls would even consider asking her these questions. Being the only daughter, she grew up a bit of a tomboy. She never socialized much with other girls so this was a bit new to Temari. She never felt like she truly belonged in the world of women.

"Um, I don't know actually…" Temari answered.

"Aw really? You're so beautiful I bet there's someone you have to like." Sakura inched on.

Ino decided she should join the fray.

"Yeah, like what about Shikamaru?" Ino asked happily.

Temari was a bit confused.

"Shikamaru? That kid?" Temari replied.

That threw everyone off. She always hung around Shikamaru and flirted with him on numerous occasions. This troubled everyone.

Ino settled back into the water.

"Shikamaru is a troublesome kid who hasn't grown up yet. He's obnoxious and lazy and won't get up to do anything unless you nag him to death about it." Temari stated almost annoyed by the idea of Shikamaru.

Ino instantly felt a connection between her and the sand kunoichi.

"Yeah, and his love of clouds! It's so annoying!" Ino added.

"EXACTLY! He's a lazy bum!" Temari agreed.

Ino started to feel a little lighter. Perhaps it was the bath house making everything happier; but she actually liked talking about Shikamaru with someone who finally understood her ideas on the lazy fool.

"Yeah and that face…" Ino said disgusted.

Temari broke into a loud laughter that echoed throughout the bath house.

Shikamaru and the boys walked by the onsen when they heard the girls laughing from an open window.

"Oh my god. Shikamaru always looks constipated!" Temari laughed.

Shikamaru's eye twitched. His face giving a constipated look.

_Troublesome women! _Shikamaru thought to himself as he tried to walk away before Kankuro pulled him back against the wall with the rest of the boys who were interested in listen to the girl's bath convo.

"He's also a sexist idiot! He has no respect for women!" Ino announced loudly as she fidgeted at the idea of all the things he says about women being _troublesome_.

"Troublesome…" Temari mocked in Shikamaru's voice; causing the other girls in the bath house to start laughing.

Shikamaru groaned and covered his face as the other boys giggled and laughed into their shirts at the insults.

"S-Shikamaru Kun i-isn't all th-that bad…" Hinata spoke softly.

_Props to you Hinata. _Shikamaru blessed her in his mind.

She was the only person who didn't trouble Shikamaru about life and daily things. Actually they never spoke at all.

"Are you kidding Hinata? His insults are worse than Neji's and Naruto's combine!" TenTen replied.

Ino couldn't help but laugh.

Neji was an egoistic fool who thinks of himself all the time and Naruto was just an idiot. But true, Shikamaru wasn't afraid to announce his annoyance for women.

"But…" Ino suddenly said.

Shikamaru suddenly interested as he heard that one word from Ino's mouth. Was she going to really say something nice about him?

Ino thought about it.

Her memories of him as children, and the times they had together flooded her mind.

"He has moments when he's…" She continued.

Everyone was silent; the boys on the outside, the girls on the inside.

But Shikamaru was the one who wanted to hear it the most. His ears were only on the trace of Ino's delicate voice to carry on with her sentence.

"… kind." Ino finished.

For some reason that one word made Shikamaru's heart and body warm. She never spoke about Shikamaru nicely before. She always nagged him and insulted him for him being such a douche to women.

And the way she had said it was kind and soft. Like a side he had never seen her in before.

"And he's strong." She continued lost in the thought of Shikamaru.

"He once protected me from a group of four boys who made fun of us for playing mommy and daddy when we were kids."

Shikamaru instantly felt the memory of that day touch his mind like a feather against an open lake. It slowly starts to dampen.

"He and I would always play together. We used to take baths and sleep over at each other's house all the time. We were so close during those times." Ino continued as she stared at the water; there was an unexplainable smile on her face.

"Well what happened between you two? You guys hate each other now." Sakura asked curiously; interrupting the blonde Konoha kunoichi's trance.

"I don't know. Or at least I don't remember." Ino answered.

"Perhaps we grew out of that age where we didn't want to play with the opposite gender anymore." Ino answered unsure of herself.

"Well that doesn't explain why you hate each other." TenTen added.

Shikamaru flinched and closed his eyes. He knew the reason why they never spoke to each other nicely anymore. He was part of the reason why Ino was so insecure about herself. She may not remember that incident all those years ago, but she grew up that way because of him, and probably forgot about that fateful day.

"I don't hate him. I just don't like his stupid comments and lazy nature." Ino replied.

"Well I'm sure that isn't how Shikamaru feels…" Temari smirked.

Shikamaru instantly tried to get up and leave; but his efforts were in vain when he felt a tight pull on his sleeve. Looking over his shoulder he saw Kiba and Kankuro smiling devilishly to him. He rolled his eyes.

_Might as well get this done while I have the chance or it will haunt me later. _Shikamaru groaned in his head as he settled back down against the wall.

"I'm sure he's…" Temari hinted towards Ino.

Ino was a bit confused. Then everything hit her.

"No Temari, I'm pretty sure he's interested in you." Ino replied; nearly feeling a stab in her heart as she admitted it.

Temari rolled her eyes and scooted toward Ino.

"Ino… you know when you had a heat stroke the other day; he was holding you closely and telling you to stay with him right?" Temari smiled devilishly and threw her arm over the other blonde.

"What?" Ino asked as a blush began to form on her face.

Temari had struck a chord.

"He was crying really loud and stupidly out in the middle of the desert when I found you two. He was all saying, "Ino, stay with me." Temari mimicked.

Ino turned away; trying to hide the blush on her face.

"That idiot." Ino said softly to herself.

"Shikamaru should go suck a dick for saying stuff like that." Ino stated loudly and pushed the knowledge of what Shikamaru had said off her mind.

All the girls in the room started laughing hysterically.

"Yeah! You used to take baths with him as a kid!" TenTen laughed.

"I bet it's still the same size." Ino teased along.

"Oh my god, you actually looked at it?" Sakura laughed.

Shikamaru took a glance at Sai who was smiling creepily at him again.

_What is with that guy and penises? _Shikamaru thought creepily to himself.

"I had to! I didn't know what it was!" Ino replied unable to catch her breath.

"Judging by the type of person Shikamaru is; who _would_ know what it is." Temari added.

Shikamaru felt a vein pop; the girls were deliberately insulting his member.

"So Ino, how do you feel about Shikamaru?" Temari asked interested.

Ino looked at Temari curiously. Almost surprised Temari had asked Ino that question.

_Wasn't she interested in Shikamaru? _Ino thought to herself.

Temari noted Ino's stare and sighed.

"No, I'm not into Shikamaru in that way. Shikamaru needs to grow up more if he wants to be able to get into my zone." Temari answered.

"I only flirt with him because it's just fun to. Nothing serious though." Temari continued.

Shikamaru suddenly felt the urge to turn away and go. The woman he had actually cared about had admitted that the whole time everything was just fun and games. He didn't care if he ripped his shirt or had to punch a few guys to get away from this wall. He wanted to get away.

"So Ino?" Temari asked again.

Shikamaru turned his head and began to stand. He could already feel the pull on his shirt from Kankuro's and Kiba's grip. His fists clenched from the sadness that was building from within.

"He's someone I treasure."

Shikamaru instantly stopped.

_Wh-... What did she say?_ Shikamaru's eyes widened from the instant shock.

Ino hadn't realized her answer but as soon as she did it felt like a thousand pounds was lifted off her chest and she began to smile. The warm feeling on her chest began to rise as she truly acknowledged her true feelings.

"Yeah, I truly care about that idiot; everything about him. His troublesome ways, his lack of energy, and the friendship he and I share." She finished with tears nearly in her eyes.

Sakura and the other girls smiled.

_She finally admits it. _Sakura was relieved.

Shikamaru tore away from Kankuro and Kibas grip and walked away. He looked angry; furious even. Choji instantly stands up and runs after his best friend.

But there wasn't an angry face to be found on this ninja at all. No there was something more on him now. Something that told everyone he was not even close to being angry.

He was smiling. Smiling like he did when he first held hands with Ino all those years ago.


	13. Chapter 13

_Before you read:_

_Is this really chapter 13? O.o This story is sooo boring… I don't even want to write it anymore -.- But oh well… If I give up soon, then it was too boring…. and I know the two main characters hasn't seen each other much so yay! They finally get to see each other again… but here goes._

* * *

Ino threw herself onto her bed sheets in the inn.

Amazing that they all get their own rooms to sleep in; Sungakure was sure hospitable when it came down to Konoha visitors.

Ino traced her fingers down the silk like fabric and noted its every mend that was done to the silk. It was intricate and precise.

She instantly changed into a nightgown that reached to her knees and combed her hair.

_Temari looked so wonderful with her bangs out of her face._ Ino thought to herself as she began playing with her own.

She took out her purple pin and pinned it over her hair, letting the piece of hair that usually dangled in front of her crystal blue eyes tie tightly against the pin. She looked at herself curiously.

She saw two blue eyes staring back at her; something she didn't see too often. And for once she looked cute. Not sexy or seductive, but a very cute face looking back at her.

There was a knock at her door and she begrudgingly got up and walked toward it.

"Who is it?" She asked as she peeked through the peekhole on the door.

_Shikamaru…_

Her flutter like feeling instantly vanished and was replaced with a bit of annoyance. She flung the door opened to face her silent comrade leaning haughtily against the door and giving her a questioning look.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"Nothing." Shikamaru replied.

Ino furrowed her eyebrows.

"Is that all?" She asked curiously.

"No." Was all he replied.

She sighed and gave way for him to enter. He took the invitation and slid right into her room. She closed the door silently behind them and turned around to finish her business with the mirror.

Shikamaru sat down on her bed; watching her every move.

She combed her hair thoroughly. It was long and golden. Somehow her cheekbones were rosey tonight. He only then realized that her hair was pinned up.

"Hey, your hair is up." Shikamaru said.

She rolled her eyes.

"Yup." She replied as she began braiding her hair to the side.

"You look beautiful." Shikamaru complimented silently but loud enough for her to hear.

She paused briefly to his words and continued to finish her waist length braid.

"Got the idea from Temari." She replied as if unmoved by his compliment.

Shikamaru smiled at her kindly from behind her head. Even now she hadn't realized he was there the whole time at the bath house, listening to every word that she had said.

"I don't want to talk about her right now." Shikamaru stated.

Ino scoffed and tied her braid in a band. She stood up and walked over to her bed and laid sluggishly on her belly. Only a few feet away from Shikamaru who was sitting up and looking at her. He laid down on his side and faced Ino who was burying her face into the sheets like she used to when they were children.

"Remember Ino… When we were kids." Shikamaru started as he reached out his hands to grab the end of her braid and touched it affectionately.

She felt the gentle motion at her hair. This didn't bother her though; they were close enough for him to be comfortable to touch her hair sometimes. She just grunted in agreement as she felt him shift onto his back and fidgeted with her hair more.

"Our sleep overs? Our baths?" Shikamaru continued.

Somehow this felt like déjà vu to Ino.

Ino lifted up her head and looked at him curiously. Her face was elegant; it glowed and trickled against the light. The moon shining brightly behind her head; tracing ever curve shown through her nightgown causing Shikamaru to suck in his breath from the very sight of her.

"Yeah, you used to overflow the bath tub with bubbles and pretend like we were in the clouds." She reminded him.

Shikamaru smiled at those numerous occasions he had done that when they were children. Somehow both of their parents had allowed them to take baths together despite their genders.

"My mom used to yell at us soooooo much for doing that." Shikamaru replied in a near whisper as he closed his eyes.

Ino giggled causing Shikamaru to shudder.

"Yeah, I remember once when she came in to check up on us; she screamed when she saw all the bubbles on the bathroom floor. "Ino laughed even more at the memory.

"_**We**_ ran out of that bath tub for our lives." Shikamaru laughed along with her.

Ino started laughing hysterically; flipping over to her side. She clutched her stomach for support.

"And you tripped down the stairs!" Ino just couldn't stop laughing at that image in her head.

A little butt naked Shikamaru falling down the stairs; trying to run away from his infuriated mother. Shikamaru scoffed and looked away embarrassingly. After Ino had calmed down she flopped back over to her belly. Folding her hands together to settle her head back down and face the pineapple head.

"Remember when you tried to protect me from those kids?" Ino asked; her stare still raking across him.

Shikamaru shifted his head to look at her. There was that longing look in her eyes again. The way it sparkled and twinkled in the firelight ignited something inside his chest. He could feel her gaze burn into him as he recalled every loving moment they had in the past.

"Yeah, I remember… those kids hit like a bitch." Shikamaru answered as he scoffed at the memory of the three little boys.

"Psh, if they did; you wouldn't have gotten tied up would you?" Ino replied almost in disbelief.

He laughed and let the memory sink in.

"Remember when I kissed you?" Shikamaru asked; hesitating with the "kiss" part.

Ino lifted herself up with her elbows to look down on him.

"Which kiss? We used to kiss all the time." Ino questioned as she thought about all the lovely times they used to have as kids.

"The… first one?" Shikamaru reminded.

Ino smiled and blushed as she recalled the first kiss they shared that lovely day.

"Yeah… you're blood tasted like shit." She commented.

"I wasn't bleeding from the mouth; you were." Shikamaru commented.

Ino laughed and punched him on the arm flirtatiously; causing Shikamaru to smile with his eyes closed. She gently laid her head back down into the sheets.

"I used to think that was the happiest day of my life." Ino said.

Shikamaru laughed alongside her. Truth be told; it used to be his too. He used to love playing with Ino as a child. They would laugh and run all day long in the forest.

There were occasional times when they would ride on Rikumaru's back and pick flowers in a nearby garden or help out at the Yamanaka flower shop. They spent every day together back then. Taking turns sleeping at each other's houses.

"I remember when I once slept at your house…" Ino started as she shifted onto her back next to Shikamaru; leaning her cheek softly against his shoulder.

"We used to stay up all night… Playing games, telling stories…" She trailed off; her mind suddenly collapsing as she realized she was bringing up the past for the first time in nearly twelve years.

Shikamaru waited her to finish her sentence.

"Saying how much we loved each other." Ino finished almost sadly.

Shikamaru felt the distance in her voice. She was finally realizing how much they've grown apart; just like he was feeling at this moment too. Everything that went right between them was being poured out at this very moment; everything from their past.

"I used to love you Ino…" Shikamaru finally admitted.

The moment he had said those words felt like a million pounds being lifted from his heart. He once loved Ino dearly and deeply. It was only now that he finally admitted it. Ino was silent; she knew the affection they once shared as a kid was no child's love.

**They were once truly and deeply in love.**

"I loved you too." She replied almost sadly.

There was a feel of regret that enveloped the room. Shikamaru and Ino both felt the presence of their younger selves within the room with them. It was about time they stopped running away and face each other. Face what went wrong so they could move on with their lives.

"I said terrible things to you Ino; and I'm sorry for it." Shikamaru spoke as he prayed for the strength to keep his breaking heart from falling.

"What do you mean? I never remembered you being mean to me… except when you decided to not play with me sometimes." Ino replied.

There was a silence from Shikamaru; Ino really didn't remember what had occurred that fateful day nearly twelve years ago. In a way, it felt like a good thing; but he knew she needed to remember it. So he could finally let it go… and her… go…

"Remember my sixth birthday Ino?" Shikamaru asked.

Ino furrowed her eyebrows; she was confused on what he was trying to make her remember. She truly didn't remember anything.

"No… why? Was I supposed to?" Ino asked curiously; her cheeks still laying gently against his shoulder.

Shikamaru's hand silently grabbed a hold of her soft ones. Only his fingers twisted around her; holding it like he did in the past when they used to sleep next to each other. Ino didn't complain; it only made her feel warmer on the inside.

"It would be good if you did." Shikamaru replied as he swallowed his saliva.

"Well I don't." Ino stated as she pushed her cheek a little harder onto his shoulder.

"I remember when we used to play with Rikumaru…?" Ino said as she tried to trace back into her mind of her old memories.

"What else?" Shikamaru asked; hoping she would remember.

"I remember when we sat in the little meadow in the clearing near Rikumaru's den… Picking flowers… and singing." She continued as she slowly began feeling tired.

"And when we helped my father at the shop…" She thought back into her mind; eyes still closed; hands still holding Shikamaru's.

"Mmm." Shikamaru replied; telling her to continue.

"I remember sleeping underneath a tree with you. When I woke up… you were gone… and I got scared…" She remembered and thought about that memory even more.

"But I came back." Shikamaru reminded her.

She smiled and buried her face into his shoulder. Shikamaru could feel the bridge of her nose on his forearm.

"But one day… you never came back…" Ino said sadly.

Shikamaru swallowed his saliva again.

"I would wait there for days… hours… minutes… Waiting for you…" Ino continued.

He knew she was getting tired. Pushing himself gently with his elbow; he turned onto his side again to face her. His hand gently removed the hair off her closed eyes.

"I'm sorry you waited Ino." Shikamaru replied as he gently kissed her golden lashes.

Ino could feel his gesture; but for some reason she didn't want to react. Something was pulling her to sleep. So she just let him kiss her eyes.

"You're here now right?" She asked in a near whisper.

Shikamaru pulled his lips away from her cream colored eyelids and stared at her sleeping face.

"I'm here to tell you sorry. No more waiting Ino…" He spoke and sucked in his pride as he tried his hardest to let the last words come out.

Ino was nearly asleep now. Waiting for him to finish his sentence.

"It's time to move on Ino…" He instantly regretted the words as they escaped from his lips; but he had to finish it.

He had to let her go.

"In this lifetime… there is no us… It's time we move on…" He finished as he caressed her face in his hands.

He felt a tear from Ino's closed eyes against his thumb and he looked at it. She was asleep; but no doubt she had heard his last words before sleep took over her.

Helaid there for a few more moments before leaving out the door to the  
Kazekage's building.


	14. Chapter 14

_Flashback_

A little Shikamaru found his way to the Yamanaka's house. Today was a very important day for him and Ino. It was his sixth birthday; then after that, it was Ino's sixth birthday the very next day. He stood in front of the door and waited for someone to open and let him in to see Ino.

He had left the present he had for Ino back at his house so he could give it to her at midnight when she slept over.

Inoichi opened the door and saw the little Shikamaru standing in front of him.

"Hey Shikamaru kun! How are you?" Inoichi exclaimed happily as he knelt before the little Nara boy.

"I'm fine uncle Inoichi sama. Is Ino home?" Shikamaru asked happily.

Inoichi laughed and stood up.

"Still planning on uniting the clans I see." Inoichi teased as he pushed the little boys head slightly into the Yamanaka's home.

Shikamaru blushed and entered.

"Ino is in the room down the hall. I will be there in a minute ok?" Inoichi informed as he turned back toward the flower garden outside.

Shikamaru rushed into the room to find Ino playing with her dolls. She was dressed up rather nicely today. Her usual short hair was tied into a tiny pony tail with her bangs let down loosely. Her dress was a pretty pink color that gradates to white at the tip; and a rather large bow with numerous ruffles at the back.

"Ino?" Shikamaru spoke.

She jerked up and looked over at him. A smile instantly beamed across her face.

"Shika kun!" She exclaimed and threw herself on top of the little boy.

He blushed and hugged her back.

"Happy birthday Shikamaru!" She yelled excitedly as she gave him a gentle kiss on his mouth.

Shikamaru blushed a little more and kissed her back.

"You too Ino." He replied shyly.

She giggled and looked over at him.

"Silly! My birthday isn't till tomorrow!" She corrected.

"She's right Shikamaru, she waited patiently for your birthday to come so you should do the same." Inoichi said as he walked into the room.

"Y-Yes sir." Shikamaru replied.

Inoichi pulled up a chair and sat down, motioning for Ino and Shikamaru to do the same.

"Let me tell you kids a story." Inoichi spoke.

The two kids settled down and sat next to each other to listen to Inoichi. Ino gradually slid her hands to hold Shikamaru's. He smiled and held it.

"About six years ago; two little stars were born on the same night, but different days." Inoichi started.

"One of the stars mother had died after giving birth to her and she was crying loudly in the arms of her father that night." Inoichi paused as he remembered that fateful night.

"The other star was brought into this world safely with both parents watching and cooing him." Inoichi continued.

"Uncle Inoichi sama, just address us by our names." Shikamaru informed.

Inoichi rubbed his head; he always seem to forget that Shikamaru was a genius.

"So, after your father heard that my wife had died; he brought you over from your galaxy and presented you to the crying Ino."

Ino was suddenly extremely interested.

"The minute you heard Ino crying you looked up and stared at her."

"you reached out your hands and touched her little face and she instantly stopped crying." Inoichi continued.

Ino looked at Shikamaru; a smile was written across her face.

"The your father and I looked at each other and said, "_One day, Shikamaru and Ino would grow up to love each other_." Inoichi continued.

"And we do!" Ino exclaimed happily.

Inoichi smiled at the sight of his daughter already falling in love.

"Yes, but kids…" Inoichi spoke. "There will be things that will tear you apart. It might tear you apart for days, years, or even lifetimes."

Shikamaru knew what he meant when he said _"Lifetimes."._

"Don't worry Inoichi sama. I will never let anyone hurt Ino." Shikamaru spoke.

Inoichi smiled and patted him on his head.

"I know you will." Inoichi replied.

There was a long moment of happiness between the three before Inoichi stood up.

"Why don't you kids go play outside?" He suggested as they all stood up and ran outside.

Ino ran back and grabbed something.

"Shika kun! Do you know who Sasuke Uchiha is?" Ino asked happily with a hint of blush on her face.

"Uh, no. Why?" Shikamaru asked as he saw her hiding something behind her back.

She blushed and squirmed gently around.

"I'll meet you at Rikumaru's den in an hour ok Shika?" She said happily as she kissed his cheek.

"Um, ok… Are you going to go do something?" Shikamaru asked.

"N-No! I'll see you later!" She exclaimed as she ran off into the other direction.

Shikamaru shrugged and left to his house.

His mom was busy cooking in the kitchen when he came home so he snuck up to his bedroom before she could notice and announce him for his birthday.

The minute he entered his room he walked in to find his present for Ino sitting on his desk.

It was a lovely golden flower in a pot.

This was a moonflower. It was very rare to find these in Konoha, the weather wasn't hot enough for these plants to grow; and they were extremely expensive. Shikamaru had to nag his father to death before Shikaku finally gave in to buying the damn flower for his son; but he knew it was for Ino.

Moonflowers glowed when touched by moonlight and were known as the symbol of eternity; for moonflowers petals never fell off or shedded.

Shikamaru knew Ino would be happy when she saw this. The Yamanaka flower shop didn't even have these on sale.

"Shikamaru!" he heard his best friend Choji call out from below.

Shikamaru stuck out his head to see the little plump boy.

"Yeah Choji?" Shikamaru asked.

"Let's go walking! It's your birthday! You have to do something!" Choji exclaimed.

Shikamaru instantly jumped out of his window and scurried to his friend.

"Wow… already practicing to be a ninja huh?" Choji complimented.

"Yeah, I'm joining this year!" Shikamaru replied as he walked alongside Choji.

"That is so unlike you." Choji commented.

"Yeah well my father thinks it's the best thing for me." Shikamaru replied.

"Yeah me too." Choji replied.

After a few moments of walking and talking about the numerous things their ninja parents say; Choji finally brought something up.

"You know who Sasuke Uchiha is right?" Choji asked.

Shikamaru looked up at Choji.

"No, but Ino was just talking about him." Shikamaru answered.

"Well Sasuke is supposedly a ninja prodigy who everyone really likes. Even Ino said to me he was cute." Choji added.

"Ino said that?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah, I saw her earlier." Choji replied.

Shikamaru was a bit more confused.

"Where?"

"In the town square." Choji announced.

"Was she with anyone?" Shikamaru asked.

"No. Just by herself." Choji replied again.

"Let's go there." Shikamaru said as he strolled toward the direction of the town square.

Why would Ino call any other guy other than himself cute? Why would she be in the town square right now?

Shikamaru peeked over into the open black top in front of him. Ino was there; standing waiting for someone.

Shikamaru sighed and strolled down towards her.

"Ino!" He yelled towards his loving little crush.

"Sasuke!" She called out as she looked at a completely different direction.

Shikamaru instantly stopped and looked over to the right where a rather attractive little boy was walking towards her. Shikamaru felt a little sting in his heart.

"What do you want Ino? Why did you call me here?" The little Sasuke boy replied coldly.

"Well tomorrow is my birthday so I brought these for you!" Ino replied happily as she pulled out a bouquet of golden flowers to the Uchiha boy.

Shikamaru stared closer at the bouquet. It was a whole bundle of moonflowers. Shikamaru felt tears begin to burn his eyes as he wanted to turn away and run from the scene he was watching.

"I don't want them. It's your birthday, not mine." Sasuke replied as he walked the other direction.

"But Sasuke!" Ino called out.

He walked away from her and disappeared.

Ino sadly turned around as she pulled out a box from her hands.

Her eyes instantly made contact with Shikamaru who had tears streaming down his face.

"I-Ino… Why? How could you?" Shikamaru spoke sadly as he tried to stop the tears from flowing down.

"Shika…?" Asked as she hurried to his side and dropped the bouquet and box.

She reached out her hands to touch his face.

He instantly slapped them out of the way.

"Don't touch me you liar!" He screamed at Ino who began to tear up.

"Shikamaru… I don't know what's wrong…" She said as tears started streaming from hers too.

"Y-you never liked me! You liked Sasuke!" Shikamaru yelled as he pushed the little Ino on the ground causing her to cry.

Choji had finally caught up to them as he saw Shikamaru push Ino into the ground.

"Shikamaru!" Choji called out as he ran to his side.

"What are you doing?" Choji asked as he held the little boy back.

Shikamaru just stared angrily down at the crying Ino.

"Shi-Shikamaru… I love you…" Was all Ino could say.

"NO!" Shikamaru screamed as he attempted to run away; but he was stopped by a pair of little hands that held his.

He turned coldly at the little girl who was holding his hands.

"No Shikamaru! Don't leave me! I love you!" She cried loudly.

Shikamaru felt a burn in his lungs and stomach. The girl he had loved was playing him for a fool the entire time.

He ripped his hands away from her grip and pushed her back down.

"You're a liar! You're ugly and stupid! I hate you Ino Yamanaka! I wish I never met you! I wish you would just disappear and become someone else! I wish you would just leave me alone forever!" Shikamaru yelled as he turned away and ran for it.

"Shikamaru!" Ino yelled as she ran after him.

But there was nothing she could do. Within a few moments the little boy she had loved disappeared from her sight and into the wilderness of the Nara forest.

She ran inside and tripped over a few twigs causing cuts and bruises on the little girl as she continued to run blindly through the forest.

Shikamaru ran into Rikumaru's den and fell on top of the deer crying loudly.

"Rikumaru! She lied to me! She cheated me!" Shikamaru cried loudly; almost frightening the poor little deer out of his wits.

"Shikamaru!" Ino called out as she ran toward the den.

Shikamaru looked at his deer friend and buried his face back into the dirt.

Rikumaru gradually rose and walked out into the opening to reach the little girl before she could reach Shikamaru.

Ino ran into the clearing and saw Rikumaru standing there.

"Rikumaru! Have you seen Shikamaru?" Ino cried out as she reached the deer.

"I-I have to tell him it was a mistake! I have to tell him that I love him!" She continued as her little eyes scanned the scenary.

She instantly saw Shikamaru inside the den; facing down into the dirt and twitching from his uncontrollable sobs.

"Shikamaru! I-"

Ino was interrupted by Rikumaru who stepped in the way.

"R-Rikumaru…" Ino said sadly as if understanding why Rikumaru wouldn't let her past.

Rikumaru shook his head and looked at her.

Ino's little heart shattered into a million pieces. She had hurt the person she cared for most in the world. She was foolish and stupid.

Ino turned around and spared one more glance at Shikamaru.

"Ok Shikamaru… I'll go away; and I'm going to change from now on." Ino said softly as she turned around and left home.

Rikumaru stood still and waited to see if the little blonde girl was going to come back. As soon as Ino's presence disappeared, Rikumaru returned to Shikamaru's side. He nudged his nose on the little boy and licked his dirt covered palms.

Shikamaru looked up at the deer; his face was covered with dirt.

"Sh-She lied to me Rikumaru..." Shikamaru spoke as he cried more.

Rikumaru laid down next to the crying boy and shared every moment listening and enduring Shikamaru's cries.

Shikamaru came home later that night. His mom scolding him for being covered with dirt and skipping out on his birthday party; but he didn't care, he wanted to go straight to his room and sleep. He ignored the presents and went up the stairs and into his room where he could cope with his problems.

As he entered his room he saw the bouquet of moonflowers on his desk. Immediately he threw it out the window.

_Those flowers were Sasuke Uchiha's flowers! _Shikamaru cursed as he jumped onto his bed.

Something fell off the desk and he looked at it. A little box with a bow on it was laying on the floor. He got up and decided that he might as well open one present.

He lifted it up and looked at the tag on the front that read,

"_To: Shikamaru Nara_

_From: Ino Yamanaka"_

Shikamaru instantly felt angry again as he attempted to throw it out the window; but something made him stop. He slowly opened the box and found a pressed moonflower on top of a canvas inside a glass protector. Shikamaru pulled out the flower and looked at it with curiosity. A little note slipped out and flopped over. Shikamaru slowly grabbed the note and read the little poem that Ino had written inside.

"_I am like a moonflower and you are like the moon._

_I shine when it's too dark for you and hold you with love._

_No numbers of flowers can express the love we share._

_No galaxies can tear us apart._

_I will always love you Shikamaru._

_Like the flower loves the moon; in the shadows we become one._

_-Love, Ino Yamanaka._

_Happy birthday Shikamaru Nara."_

Shikamaru laid back onto the floor, rereading the letter over and over again. Tears spewing out of his eyes.

He had hurt her; he pushed her away when she really loved him.

"Ino…" he cried out.

"I'm so sorry…"

* * *

_THIS MOTHAFUCKEN CHAPTER WAS DIFFICULT TO WRITE BECAUSE MY SISTER TOLD ME THE CHARACTERS ARE NOT IN CHARACTER! FUCK MY LIFE! of course they won't be… in reality Shikamaru is with Temari ((sorta)) so this isn't in character no matter what. But overall I got lazy writing it. I know it sucked but whatever…. __ I AM NEVER GOING TO CHECK MY REVIEWS! EVER! EVER!_


	15. Chapter 15

Ino awoke in the middle of the night.

The room was dark and cold; only moonlight shining through now. She looked over next to her where Shikamaru had laid just before she fell asleep.

He wasn't there.

She felt a cold sting in her heart as she realized that everything that they used to have was really over now. Shikamaru really doesn't love her like he used to. He's moved on now; all because he thought Ino had liked Sasuke during that time twelve years ago.

If only Shikamaru had allowed her the time to tell him the truth of why she had tried to give those flowers to Sasuke all those years ago; If only he knew how much she loved him.

If only he knew how much she loved him now.

She gently curled her hands to her chest and began to cry. She knew that little Shikamaru she once loved wasn't going to come back. The promises they had made; the love they shared was gone now. Her heart breaking as each sob came out of her convulsive body.

Her tears burned her crystal blue eyes harshly as she tried her hardest to push them back. But she knew it wasn't possible. She knew he wasn't in love with her anymore; and she blamed herself for it.

"I heard Shino is out fifteen miles west from here. He's inspecting the old remnants of an old war zone that could possibly have some clues to why these Sonar waves had been happening." Ino heard Kankuro from outside her room.

"Yeah, he is. He's asking Gaara to send an assisting group as soon as possible." Sakura replied.

Ino stopped her crying and listened closely to what they were saying.

"Gaara hasn't been able to form an assisting team yet. He's still skimming through the possible Konoha and Sungakure ninja's he could find to send on this delicate mission." Kankuro added.

"He should send Ino, Kiba, and Hinata first. Ino is a medical ninja so it'd be best to send her along to help assist them. And Kiba and Hinata are perfect for a scout team." Sakura informed.

There was a pause and Ino stepped out of her bed.

"I'm not sure about that… Shikamaru just saw Gaara. He asked that Gaara send Ino back to Konoha." Kankuro informed.

Ino's heart sank as she heard that Shikamaru had suggested sending her back To Konoha. Why would he suggest something like that against Ino? She was here to assist Suna just like all the other Konoha ninja's were.

"What? Why?" Sakura asked curiously; the sound of shock in her voice.

Kankuro groaned.

"I don't know what is wrong with him. All he said was, "Ino is useless. Send her back. She can't assist Suna; she can't even help herself." Kankuro spoke.

Ino felt a sharp jab in her heart. Shikamaru called her _useless?_

"Shh! Ino's room is right there!" Sakura shushed Kankuro.

"She's probably asleep. It's freaking three in the morning!" Kankuro yelled.

"SHUSH!" Sakura repeated.

Before anymore could be said; Ino immediately packed her things quickly and dressed in her normal kunoichi attire. She was not useless. She was strong and she knew it. She may not be snotty and skilled like Temari, but she was still a proud kunoichi.

Ino slipped out of the window stealthily like a ninja. She scanned her surroundings outside and noted no one was around. Immediately she ran toward the western Suna gate.

She wasn't going to listen to anyone's order anymore. She was going to stop this Sonar Weapon no matter what it took. She was going to crack this mystery and serve it as a test for herself. She was no weakling; she is powerful.

She was a ninja.

And with that she disappeared into the night toward the west; where Shino was.

* * *

Shikamaru sluggishly got out of bed and went down stairs to get some doughnuts on the table. As he entered the lobby he saw Sakura, TenTen, and Hinata scurrying about.

"Did you find her?" TenTen asked Sakura.

Sakura shook her head and left back outside.

_What are those troublesome women doing? _Shikamaru thought as he walked up to the stand and took a chocolate covered doughnut.

Kiba came into the lobby; dressed already.

"Yo Shikamaru! Where's Ino?" Kiba asked grouchily as he walked towards the shadow ninja.

"I don't know Kiba; probably in her room." Shikamaru answered harshly as he took another bite out of the doughnut.

"Dammit, where did she go?" Naruto groaned as he walked into the lobby after Kiba.

Shikamaru looked up at the two boys who looked frustrated. It was none of his business if Naruto was searching for Sakura.

"I saw the pink head run outside." Shikamaru noted as he pointed at the door.

Naruto looked at him blankly.

"No, Ino is missing." Naruto informed.

Shikamaru looked up at the blonde curiously. Ino was missing?

"What?" Shikamaru asked.

Choji interrupted the scene and came into the lobby from the outside door.

"Shikamaru… We can't find Ino anywhere. Gaara has ordered to dispatch her back to Konoha; but she's gone." Choji's tone in worry.

Shikamaru stood up instantly.

"Ino is gone?" Shikamaru asked almost furious.

The three boys looked at each other for a brief moment before answering all at once.

"Yeah, She's gone."

Shikamaru suddenly felt a pang in his chest as he ran up the stairs and barged into her room. There was nothing left behind. No note, no clothes… Nothing.

"W-What?" Shikamaru said to himself as he ran out the room and into the streets of Suna.

He instantly noticed Temari.

"Shikamaru!" She yelled towards him.

"Temari! Have you seen Ino?" Shikamaru asked concerningly as he went up towards her.

"No Shikamaru. There is no trace of her." Temari replied as she stopped in front of him.

"Gaara has decided who to send out to assist Shino." Temari informed.

Shikamaru didn't pay the least attention to it. His eyes scanning through the crowd hastily as he searched for Ino.

"He's sending Hinata, Kiba, Akamaru, Kankuro, and Sakura to go assist Shino." Temari informed.

Shikamaru ignored her words and quickly sped off. He wasn't in the mood for listening to battle strategies; he had to find Ino as soon as he could. As he turned the corner he found Sakura and Kankuro talking inside of an alley way. Slowly he crept behind to listen to them.

"KANKURO! I knew you shouldn't have blabbed your mouth last night! Now look! Ino is gone!" Sakura fidgeted; punching Kankuro on the arm.

"YOU ASKED ME!" Kankuro replied.

"I'm going to ask Gaara to put me on the assisting team. I know Ino left to assist Shino already. I have to go get her back before Choji or Shikamaru knows of what happened." Sakura hissed in a whisper as she paced back and forth.

"Psh, I don't think Shikamaru would care… Let's just tell him she left to Konoha already and keep them here till we get her back." Kankuro suggested.

Sakura shot him a cold stare.

"We can't do that! They're her teammates. They would be furious if they ever found out that we lied to them about her condition!" Sakura explained. "We should just leave and not tell them anything."

Shikamaru stood up and presented himself before the two bickering fools. There was anger written on his face and his fists clenched.

"What EXACTLY did you say to her last night?" Shikamaru spoke in a low and murderous tone.

Sakura and Kankuro both swallowed their saliva and looked at each other.

"I-I didn't say it TO her… I-It was umm…. An accident." Kankuro replied.

Shikamaru took another step towards them.

"He said, you said, "Ino is useless. Send her back. She can't assist Suna; she can't even help herself." Sakura said boldly. "That IS what you said… right?"

Shikamaru felt a cold jab into his chest as he realized that Ino probably had heard Sakura and Kankuro's conversation last night. He had only said those things to avoid seeing Ino for the rest of the mission. But knowing Ino, she would most definitely take it as a serious thing.

Without a reply Shikamaru turned around and ran for the Kazekage's building.

He was going to go along with the assisting team. Even if Ino wasn't headed toward Shino; he was sure she wouldn't have gone back to Konoha. It just wasn't something she'd willingly do.

_Why Ino… _Shikamaru cursed in his mind as he sped past the ongoing search crowd.

He needed to bring Ino back himself.


	16. Chapter 16

Ino peered through her binoculars and inspected the forest like terrain in front of her.

_Why the hell would there be a forest in the middle of a fucken desert? _Ino questioned in her mind as she skimmed the terrain.

Since she left Suna she's seen a few crazy animals; but she easily avoided them and moved on toward her true destination. She has absolutely no idea where Shino would be. But it wasn't like she needed to go help Shino. She needed to find the Sonar Weapon and destroy it as soon as she could.

Her mind slowly drifted to Shikamaru.

He had said terrible things about her behind her back. And on top of that he told her to move on.

_He probably thinks he's hella hot right now. I never even told him I liked him. _Ino furrowed her eyebrows in anger.

_But he was right. I did like him. _She continued.

A bug flew onto her shoulder and she shrugged it off.

_Disgusting thing! _She thought to herself and squirmed away from it. It hovered around her for a few moments before flying off into a different direction. Disregarding the strange bug; she ran toward the mysterious forest in front of her.

"That girl really has no battle strategy does she?" Shino sighed as he watched her run into the forest from a nearby cliff.

He himself had not gone into the forest yet; just searching around the perimeters of it. He had sent a few of his bugs to scout the area inside but none came back. This worried Shino.

_Why would Gaara send Ino here all by herself to assist me? _Shino thought to himself as she disappeared into the bushes.

This was odd; normally a four man squad would have been assembled and sent off to assist a scouter; so why was Ino by herself? And why was she clueless to where Shino was? He had sent a map to Suna; specifying his location to them. Was Ino ignorant to using maps to find her comrades?

Also she had shooed his bug away when he deliberately sent it to her to lead her to him.

Shino stood there for a few more moments. If Ino was sent here for different purposes then he would have received a letter informing him of the other team that would have been assembled on a different count.

Worry overtook the insect master. He had to make a decision quick.

Should he follow her into the forest blindly and ask her for her purposes? Should he disregard her existence and wait for further instructions from the Kazekage and Shikamaru them?

He sighed and released two bugs from his sweater.

"Follow her; and if she should fall into any kind of trouble; one of you will come back and inform me." Shino commanded his bugs and they immediately flew toward the direction of the little girl who had run into the forest.

Shino continued to look over the cliff and waited for any signs of the blonde kunoichi reappearing again.

_Something is not right here…_ Shino thought to himself.

* * *

Gaara folded his hands over his mouth and listened to Shikamaru's proclamation.

"I have already assembled a group necessary to assist Shino. I have already chosen Kiba, Hinata, and Kankuro." Gaara replied.

Shikamaru furrowed his eyebrows from frustration.

"Yes Kazekage, I understand that; But Ino Yamanaka has left Suna. She may be in that area right now." Shikamaru informed.

"I understand that Shikamaru; but she left on her own free will. I do not wish to send more Konoha lives into this battle field. I will spare as much as I need to." Gaara replied; his expression stoic and straight.

"Then I will leave here on my own free will also." Shikamaru stated.

Gaara removed his hands from his face.

"Shikamaru. A Ninja does not let his emotions affect him." Gaara replied.

Shikamaru winced at Gaara's response and placed his hands on Gaara's desk.

"Gaara, send me along. I beg of you." Shikamaru spoke with uneasiness in his voice.

Gaara gave it a moment to process; his eyes shifting over to Shikamaru's face. There was something bothering Shikamaru. He couldn't risk sending Shikamaru with his head fired up right now. But Gaara knew no matter what he says, Shikamaru will leave to find Ino.

"Alright Shikamaru, I will dispatch you with the assisting team." Gaara confirmed.

"But listen to these details carefully. I will only say them once and." Gaara continued.

Shikamaru was relieved that Gaara had finally come down to compromise with the shadow ninja. He didn't want to use unnecessary means to change the Kazekage's mind; but no matter what the cause, this fitted in Shikamaru's favor.

"I am making you Squad Leader until you regroup with Shino. You are to remain as the assisting team. After that, Hinata and Kiba's objective will be changed to scout; Shino to the new squad leader. You and Kankuro's true mission will stay clear and absolute the entire time. You are to assist and protect the scout team. The scout team will find Ino Yamanaka and bring her back."

Shikamaru was silent; Gaara had allowed Shikamaru to go along. But not permit him in the search for Ino.

"The terrain Shino is researching is something we call, "The Threshold". It's a mysterious forest in the middle of this desert that has been there since the first great Shinobi war." Gaara paused briefly before continuing.

"There was a man named, Tenki Hatanano who opposed the five great nations with a very similar attack strategy as we see today. He used a mysterious and undetectable sonar weapon that neutralized his opponents by deafening them and sending tremendous shock to the body.

"Evidently Tenki was captured by the sand; and disposed of shortly after."

Shikamaru didn't like these trivial details when it came down to missions.

"In the scripture's that Tenki had left behind after his death, he had stated the very name of this weapon as, "Moonflower". Apparently to the scripture's, Moonflower has a mind of its own."

"What of the weapon?" Shikamaru interrupted.

Gaara folded his hands in front of his mouth again and stared at the table.

"It was never found." Gaara replied silently.

It was as Shikamaru had feared; the weapon was probably being used again by someone else now.

"The Threshold is an uncharted mass; judging to be about a good eighteen mile radius and the only place the Sand has never checked to find the weapon." Gaara continued.

"Why?" Shikamaru asked curiously.

"There has been unexplainable monsterous beings appearing from this forest; and a crushing chakra feel there. Anyone who had gone into that forest has never come back." Gaara answered.

Shikamaru sighed; he hoped Ino would be smart enough to not enter a strange forest.

"With that knowledge; I do not want any of you entering the forest. Even _IF_, Ino had gone in there." Gaara continued.

"You are to look for clues and the possibilities of Ino being there. That is all. You are dismissed."

Shikamaru turned around and walked out the Kazekage's door. He had intended the circumstances to be different. But with him being removed as squad leader when they reached Shino was a tad bit alarming for Shikamaru.

_Ino… Where could you be?_

* * *

_Whoo! Boring chapter! I didn't know how to write it __ So sorry if I repeat myself like a billion times but yeah… Umm im not sure if anyone reads this… but yeah… I WILL UPDATE 6 NEW CHAPTERS ((or more)) NEXT WEEK… So if you do read this… o.o please be patient for it :D :D :D :D I'm also in the process of writing, "Mom" ((also a Shikaino fanfic)) so writing two fanfics at the same time is sorta hard… but bear with me :D And if you are confused to why Shikamaru rejected Ino… he will explain it later on in some of the later chapters…. So please be patient…._


	17. Chapter 17

The forest was dark and humid. Ino had scampered around almost every inch of it.

There were no signs of any life in this forest; other than the trees. No insects or animals around. She didn't even hear any noises other than the noises she made. She had never been inside a place so complex before.

She didn't even know how to get out of the area anymore.

"What could possibly be in this forest?" Ino asked herself.

There was a soft buzzing behind her and instantly turned around.

Only the trees whisked slowly behind her; but nothing out of the ordinary. Slowly she took out her kunai and proceeded to walk with caution. She looked up at the barely seen sky and noted that it was almost nightfall. She had hoped there were no dangerous animals that lurked around at this hour.

A twig snapped from beneath her feet and she jerked away from it.

_Come on Ino… Be strong here… _She assured herself and walked deeper into the forest.

She peered through the numerous trees and saw a little clearing not too far from her. She inched slowly toward it with caution. To her surprise it looked a little meadow; like the one Shikamaru used to visit as children. As she came closer to the clearing she noted the flowers had looked strangely familiar.

She inched her foot onto the smooth grass. It was almost too dark to see; and if there were any creatures nearby or watching her already, she'd be completely vulnerable for an easy attack.

She sucked her breath in as she became completely engulfed in darkness with no one to help her. Should she walk out into the clearing by herself? Should she go back?

Moonlight shone into the clearing; it was intricate and poetic. It shined on the numerous plants in the clearing. Looking around, she could see a little building in the middle of the tiny meadow she was in.

Perhaps she should stay there till morning when she could roam freely.

Something in the clearing something began shining from the distance. A golden color on the ground; It began to shine a beautiful golden color and spread throughout the floor. As it came at an increasing speed toward Ino, she jerked away and ran for it. Before she knew it, she too was enveloped into the golden aura; immediately she closed her eyes waited for the worst.

She waited…

And waited

And waited…

Finally after a few moments she peeked open her eyes.

Glowing golden flowers filled the meadow with intricate lights. Ino pulled her hands away from her face and looked at them even closer.

Moonflowers.

She was standing in a whole field of moonflowers.

"H-How is this… possible?" Ino whispered as she looked around wide eyed at her surroundings.

True, moonflowers were known to grow in hot humid places like forests and such; but how was it possible for there to be so many of them in one area? They shined and filled the clearing and trees around her with a beautiful golden glow.

Ino slowly walked through the numerous flowers and toward the little building in the middle; her heart beating faster as she reached her hand for the door.

Gently she twisted the door open it quickly and positioned her kunai protectively in front of her.

There was nothing but darkness on the inside. Ino sighed and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"I thought I was a goner." Ino said to herself as she stepped inside.

The inside of the building was made out of alabaster stone; very old and molding already. It smelled like old wet clothes and had this eerie ominous feel to it. Ino pulled out a rag inside from her pouch and poured lighter fluid over it. After wrapping it around a stick she lit it and examined the room.

It was empty.

There were markings all over the walls in a language she had never seen before. Ino stepped closer to the walls and looked over the writing.

_It could possibly be old incantations of some sort. _Ino thought to herself as she skimmed her hands over the stone.

The writing smeared like chalk. Pulling her hands away she noted the chalk like materials was made from an old oak tree. There was nothing unordinary in this place; other than the fact that it was surrounded by moonflowers.

Ino peeked outside; watching the moonflowers glowing and twinkling about as a soft breeze passed by. It was almost serene and pure to look at. She pulled out a roll of trip wire and paper bombs and prepared them. If she was sleeping here, might as well be cautious about it.

She quickly went outside and prepared the barrier of bombs in case anyone or anything tried to get her in the middle of the night. After the barrier was put up she quickly dove back into the little building. She looked around briefly; letting everything sink in.

She had escaped Suna on her own, went to a strange forest, and made a bomb barrier all on her own. This wasn't an accomplishment; but at least she's getting somewhere.

Her thoughts drifted toward Shikamaru. Last night he had come into her room and let the sins of the past go; including Ino herself; like he was just trying to get rid of a pesky little fly.

Speaking of flies, Ino had been trying to shoo two of them away for the longest time ever now; strange that there would be only two bugs in this whole entire forest; but not one animal or creature to be seen at all.

She curled herself into a little ball and laid down on the cold hard floor. She never felt so lonely before in her life. She always had friends and people around her to care; like Sakura, Choji, and Shikamaru.

Yes… Even Shikamaru.

But she was here now; here on her own; ready to take care of herself and save the world. She just needed to find a clue or two to find the damn weapon and destroy it before it could destroy her or anyone else.

Two bugs flew and landed nearby her. They always stayed near each other and looked oddly familiar.

"At least you have each other." Ino spoke to herself as she watched the bugs lay not too far away.

They buzzed gently before crawling into an open crack in the ground.

Ino sighed and leaned her head onto the cold floor again. She stared into the open space before her; only the torch light she made gave light to this small building. There was nothing she could do right now.

A small little object caught her eye caught her eye; it looked like a book.

Slowly she rose and walked toward the piece of literature and decided it was time for a little reading; although she hated it. What else was she going to do in this cold barren building in here?

As she picked up the old book and noted the broken lock on the cover. No doubt this was a diary. How great for Ino; she loved to gossip and learn new things about other people. She did after all have the best people skills when it came down to her squad.

She dusted the old dust away from the cover and peered at it.

_Moonflower_

That was all the cover said.

She shrugged and opened it slowly; the first page appeared to be a drawing of a room and a man. The room looked strangely familiar and the man was young; probably in his late twenties. The same material of old oak was used to draw this piece of work. Ino decided to be extra careful with this diary; it could tear and smear any moment from her grip.

She turned the page and found beautiful calligraphy written words on the inside.

_Tenki Hatanano._

Ino shrugged it off and flipped the page; something rather heavy flopped out of the book and landed on the ground. It was folded and didn't look too much like paper. Ino picked it up and inspected the material. To her surprise it was made out of animal fur. Slowly she opened it.

There was a map. It didn't look too readable either. There were trees and numerous little statues drawn everywhere on the map. The more Ino looked at it the more she became confused. What was this thing about?

To be honest it was too dark to fully examine the map. She begrudgingly folded it back and put it into her pouch. Her hands grazed on something else in her pocket.

She pulled it out and noted it was the piece of paper Sai had given her. She crumpled it up and threw it on the ground.

She knew it was going to be a long night; generally, she began reading the rest of the diary.

* * *

Shikamaru and the other squad walked toward Shino who was sitting on top of the cliff.

"I see you've finally made it." Shino said as they reached him.

Shikamaru handed a scroll to Shino and stood next to him; staring at the forest ahead of them that was covered in moonlight. Shino gradually opened the scroll and took a few moments to read it.

_I hope Ino hadn't gone in there. _Shikamaru wished in his mind as he examined it.

It looked terrifying. Even he wouldn't just walk into a forest like that. He looked over at Shino; whom was reading the scroll.

"Shino I need to ask if you've seen-"

He was interrupted by Shino as he heard the insect master sigh in frustration and agony. Shino gradually pulled his hands to his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"I-Is something th-the matter Shi-Shino Kun?" Hinata asked worryingly as she ran to her teammate's side.

Shikamaru watched Shino with curiosity as he waited for Shino's answer. Shino wasn't one to be frustrated easily. Out of all the Konoha ninja's, Shino was the most patient and reserved. What could possibly be troubling a ninja that never faltered before in his entire career?

"I saw Ino…" Shino answered in an utmost disappointing voice; refusing to look up at them.

Shikamaru's heart jumped.

"You did? Where? Is she safe?" Kankuro asked as he ran to listen in on the information.

Shino lifted his head and looked at Kankuro.

"She went into the forest." Shino answered.

Shikamaru instantly felt worry wash over him. Ino had been stupid enough to go inside the forest. _WHY THE FUCK WOULD SHE GO INTO A RANDOM FOREST IN THE MIDDLE OF A DESERT?! Why would she even consider going into a forest that looked like THAT?!_ Shikamaru cursed in his mind as he swore at himself.

"And you didn't stop her?!" Shikamaru yelled; demanding an answer.

Shino slowly turned his attention to Shikamaru.

"I hadn't known she was here on her own will. There was only an instance that I saw her. I had sent my parasitic insect to lead her to me; but she dismissed it and entered the forest before I could even reach her." Shino informed.

Shikamaru felt a cold feel wash over him. Was this truly the last time he'd ever see Ino? Were those words the last words he'll ever say to Ino? Shikamaru backed away from Shino and began to falter. His world came collapsing in that very instance. He can't lose Ino. He hadn't meant those words.

"We have to get her back." Shikamaru stated as he attempted to jump the cliff and run for the forest when Shino's arm grabbed him.

"Gaara specifically ordered we-"

"FUCK GAARA!" Shikamaru interrupted coldly as he tore his arm from the insect master's hand.

Everyone stared wide eyed at Shikamaru; had he insulted the Kazekage Gaara?

"I'm getting Ino back!" Shikamaru commanded as he turned the other direction.

Shino again stepped in the way; not allowing Shikamaru to pass.

"Calm down Shikamaru, we need to plan a strategy first! And you know it." Shino replied.

Shikamaru faltered and looked at the insect master curiously.

"What if Ino is dying right now?" Shikamaru asked; his face emotionless.

Shino shook his head.

"I sent two bugs to follow her. If anything had happened to her, one of them would return and inform me. Either that or they died." Shino replied as he lifted his sleeve.

"I highly doubt that's the case though." Shino finished as he looked at his arm.

Shikamaru felt a little calmer knowing that Shino had sent his bugs secretly to watch over Ino; but that wasn't good enough. He needed to get her back himself. He needed to see her and make her go back.

"We need to get her Shino; we need to get her back now." Shikamaru repeated as he gave a stoic expression.

Shino didn't feel like opposing Shikamaru at the moment; nor did he feel like disobeying specific instructions from the Kazekage. Shino could feel the ominous crushing chakra from where they stood already. It seemed to eat away at the body and infuse itself into their bodies. This was difficult for Shino; due to the fact his bugs nested inside his body were fighting the chakra off.

Shino sighed; he needed to make a decision again. He wasn't good at socializing with people. It just wasn't him.

"Shikamaru. It's too risky; I'm not sure if we should do this." Shino stated.

Shikamaru could feel frustration rising again, but he quickly calmed down and spoke civilly to his squad leader.

"Shino, please; if we can make a plan, we can all get Ino back and I know it." Shikamaru persuaded.

Kankuro furrowed his eyebrows. "I think we should rest, it's the best thing for us right now." Kankuro stated annoyed by the way Shikamaru was pestering everyone about finding Ino.

Shikamaru was awfully tired; but he didn't want to rest and wait for the next day to find Ino. He wanted to find her as soon as they can. Looking around the bunch he noted Hinata was extremely fatigue; causing him to wince and think about the way he had been treating them.

"Shino, I will go on my own then." Shikamaru insisted once again.

Shino shook his head silently and looked away from the shadow ninja.

Shikamaru gritted his teeth in absolute anger. Gradually he calmed himself down; he needed to come up with his own plan; the plan to get Ino back and return her to Konoha.

_Ino… I will find you…_


	18. Chapter 18

Someone shook Shikamaru awake in the middle of the night. He gradually opened his eyes slowly and looked over his shoulder at the source of annoyance.

Shino was hovering over Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru… We need to speak." Shino spoke in a low tone.

"Why?" Shikamaru asked almost annoyed by the squad leader.

"It's about Ino." Shino answered.

Shikamaru sat up and looked over at the insect master; still half asleep.

"Let's take a walk." Shino commanded as he stood up and handed out his hand to help the shadow ninja up.

Shikamaru took Shino's hand and stood to meet the squad leader head on. Shino said nothing and strolled down the desert sand; away from the other ninja's. Shikamaru begrudgingly followed after Shino; he was extremely tired and wanted to rest from a day of worry.

"What do you want?" Shikamaru asked as soon as they were quite a distance away from the other ninja's that were asleep.

Shino abruptly stopped and face the shadow ninja. Shikamaru could see they were very close to the forest and this peaked his interest as he started to awaken from his fatigue state. Shino had lead him to the forest; but why?

"What's this about Shino?" Shikamaru asked.

"It's about Ino." Shino replied as he took out his left hand from the pocket it was held within.

Shikamaru furrowed his eyebrows.

"Okay?" He asked with a sincere amount of interest.

"I'm letting you go find her." Shino replied.

Shikamaru instantly woke up completely; his senses alert. Had he heard Shino right? Shino had agreed to let Shikamaru go find her?

"What? Why?" Shikamaru asked almost mortified by the sudden turn of events.

"I would do the same if Hinata was in this situation." Shino replied as he looked over at the top of the cliff where the other ninja's slept.

Shikamaru was stunned by the way Shino was acting; this was odd coming from such an emotionless person. Shikamaru continued to stare at the insect master; hoping it wasn't a joke or a lie.

"A-Are you… Serious?" Shikamaru asked.

There wasn't an answer from the insect master; instead a bug flew onto Shikamaru's shoulder.

"That bug was the bug that was with Ino; follow it and it will lead you to her." Shino instructed.

Shikamaru looked at the bug; then looked back at Shino.

"Shino… Thank you." Shikamaru thanked his comrade.

"There isn't any time Shikamaru, if Ino moves then it will be nearly impossible to find her." Shino added as he pointed toward the forest.

Shikamaru smiled and looked over at the bug as it flew and headed for the forest immediately. He took it as his cue to go after Ino as quickly as he could. He sped after the bug and briefly looked back at Shino before disappearing into the forest.

_Ino… I'm going to find you no matter what. _Shikamaru thought to himself as he kept his eyes alert for the bug in the darkness he was surrounded in.

* * *

Ino stirred lightly in her sleep as she rolled on the cold hard floor. There was a hint of sunlight touching her shoulders and she welcomed the warmth of the rays. Somehow this place was serene and pure to be in; like a place meant for meditating. She peaked one of her eyes open.

Last night she spent nearly the whole night reading the diary. She learned a lot of a man named Tenki and the writer who was obviously a woman. She had spoken about the war they were caught up in; it wasn't pleasant reading that though.

In the diary, the author had written a lot about her undying love for her "savior" Tenki who took her in when she became an orphan. There wasn't much to understand other than the fact Tenki was a good person to her.

Ino sat up and stretched her aching body.

"What a wonderful day!" Ino sighed and looked around in the empty sunlit room.

The room was a completely different place than she had remembered from last night. The alabaster stone walls were intricate and exotic as it beamed in numerous colors at her. The place was torn; but the scenery of this room was almost tranquil. The colors were beautiful as it drew pictures all over the ceiling and walls.

Ino slowly stood up and looked around for a while. The picture's looked oddly familiar to her for some reason. She pushed her hands into her pocket and began searching through the bag for the piece of paper she had shoved in there last night.

She pulled out the wool like textured piece and held it up. It was definitely a map; but the drawings were exactly the same as the ones on the wall. Ino began realizing something then…

She darted for the diary and opened the page she had seen the man sitting in the room.

It was the exact room she was standing in.

Her eyes widened in disbelief. Could this diary be a sign to what was happening? She looked up at the walls and noted the exact form of words that resembled the word, "Sonar". Immediately Ino smiled; this map was a clue to where the sonar weapon was.

She rushed to her bag and stuffed the diary in and prepared her things; keeping the map in her side pouch. After she had finished she left to the outside and looked around at the trip wire.

_No signs of any predators. _Ino sighed to herself as she began to assemble them again.

A twig snapped from behind her.

Ino jerked and hopped behind a rock nearby; pulling out her kunai in a protective manor as she looked at the direction the sound came from. She could feel a presence quickly approaching.

Suddenly a familiar bug flew into sight.

She sighed and chuckled at her alertness as she stepped away from the rock.

"Hey little guy, you're quite a stalker aren't you?" Ino spoke as she approached the bug.

Suddenly someone emerged from the shadow of the trees and flung her to the ground viciously. She fought back and managed to free herself from the person's powerful grip and jumped a distance away.

His black spiked up ponytail swayed gently as he stood onto his feet to face the kunoichi. His notable chunin vest and black sweater underneath gave his identity away immediately. His dark burning eyes stared at her with an intensity she knew was ignited by anger.

"Shikamaru?"

He said nothing as he darted swiftly at her again; this time with more aggression than the first time he tackled her down. Luckily, she was always quicker than him when it came down to evading. She flipped over to her side and ran out of reach to the superior ninja.

She didn't have time to talk to the enraged ninja so she decided to leave her trip wire and ran for the trees; ignoring the fact she was being followed by her comrade.

"INO STOP!" Shikamaru yelled from behind her as he jumped into the trees.

She ignored it and fled into the trees and quickened her paste with her chakra. She didn't want to speak to him; he was most likely here to try and bring her back to Suna. She jumped down and ran into some nearby bushes to make sure he stayed a good distance away from her.

Shikamaru was irritated; she was running away with such fervor and determination to keep him away. He quickly started to catch up to the kunoichi as he burned his chakra into his legs; fueled by anger for her, he ignored the bushes and jumped in after her.

"Ino! You better stop right now!" Shikamaru screamed as he quickly caught up to her.

He reached out his hand to grab her arms but was quickly evaded as she turned a corner.

"Ino!" he yelled out just before he tripped over a tree stump; tripping and rolling over numerous rocks on the ground.

She heard his grunts and looked over at the stumbling Shikamaru.

"Shika?!" She called out as she halted her escape and ran over to him.

He laid there out of breath and injured from his fall. His angry eyes looked over at Ino who quickly sped over to him. She quickly came to her knees and leaked her calming blue chakra into his open skin. Without hesitation he swung himself over and captured her into his large arms; pinning her frail body tightly into his embrace.

She was shocked by his sudden strength and was quickly flipped over onto her back. She fought back; socking him, biting him, kicking him, and scratching him. He paid little attention to the pain she was causing him. She was like a little cat ready to scratch a dog; but she was in out of her head.

This dog definitely doesn't give up easy.

As a last attempt she swung her head over to his face and bit his right cheek harshly. He groaned loudly from the pain and squirmed his head away. She broke her arms free; attempting to get away again. He regained his composure quickly and grabbed her wrists tightly; pinning his chest heavily against her. He quickly slid his entire body in between her legs.

Her entire diaphragm was being squished by his weight and she began panting heavily; trying to breath for air.

"Shika…" She groaned and coughed in an attempt to tell him he was squishing her lungs with his weight.

He removed a little bit of weight and allowed her to breathe.

"You give up?" He asked as he breathed loudly and labored from his run.

She shook her head out of defiance.

He pressed his weight against her frail chest again; sending her into a loud groan as she tried her hardest to regain her breath again. She arched her chest against him and squirmed around in agony. He lifted off her and stared at her.

She was sweating with her eyes closed and looked absolutely submissive now. Immediately his member began to grow hard as he looked at her breasts underneath his chunin vest. He raked his eyes over her luscious body shamelessly. He didn't care if she opened her eyes and saw him looking over her like that. He was angry and didn't care what she thought.

After she regained her composure she looked over at him. She saw the intensity in his eyes as he continued to rake his eyes over her body.

"You've grown Ino." He commented shamelessly as he pulled her arms down toward her sides.

She looked away and closed her eyes as she felt him lower himself on her body. She could feel his hot breath against her neck and sent shivers down her spine. The closeness of him and the way he raked her with his eyes caused a certain wetness to form from her nether regions.

This was the first time he had ever had a true erection from her. He was filled with a sense and a need inside himself as he felt her body from underneath his. Her cheekbones glistened along her entrancing skin; he imagined this look for an intimate moment.

"You going to give up?" He questioned again; hoping she would say no to fight with her more; and hopefully it would be a reason to harass her.

She closed her eyes and nodded submissively. Out of disappointment he lifted himself from her frail figure and pulled her up along with him. She gasped and stood up abruptly and turned her face away out of shame.

"You better not run." He commanded as he let her hands go and stared at her.

She just stood there; completely saddened at the state she was in. He reached out his hand and took hers in his again.

"We're going." He spoke as he tried to drag her along.

She yanked her hands out of his.

"No." She replied.

"What?" Shikamaru asked out of anger and annoyance by the stubbornness his teammate had.

"I said, NO!"

_You guys… I'm sorry I said I was going to update with six chapters… but something kinda happened o.o… ummm please bear with me here… I am trying my best to get internet at my own home so I would be able to upload on my own, but yeah… sorry… I AM NOT GIVING UP! Just yet…._


	19. Chapter 19

Shikamaru sat across from his teammate as night settled in. There weren't signs of any life nearby so this was a good thing. Shikamaru launched another log into the fire outside of the tiny little building. The moonflowers glowed and twinkled along the limelight of the moon. This place was tranquil.

"Where did you find this place Ino?" Shikamaru asked as he glanced around the scenery.

She didn't answer.

He looked at her with annoyance. She was the one who brought this upon herself. If she hadn't escaped Suna and ventured here on her own he wouldn't have put her under such stress. This was completely her fault.

"Ino." Shikamaru called out to her again.

She looked at him; fire in her eyes. She was humiliated in every way possible; she ran away and was caught when she was only trying to be strong on her own. Not to mention he raked her with his eyes as if she was only an object. She felt like a fool.

Shikamaru was always a few steps ahead of her.

"You shouldn't have come to this forest; it's dangerous." Shikamaru informed as he sat down next to the fire.

She said nothing.

"There are monsters in this forest." He continued.

"Well I haven't seen anything." She replied.

He watched her with anger. The idiocy with this girl was astonishing.

"Not yet." Shikamaru corrected her.

She rolled her eyes and shifted her body away from him.

"There was a man named Tenki Hatanano who controlled a weapon that could possibly be the reason why these things are happening." Shikamaru informed.

Ino jerked from what he had said.

_Tenki? _Ino questioned in her mind.

"He was an evil man who used the weapon against the five great nations in the first great shinobi war." Shikamaru continued.

"How would you know that?" Ino questioned as she peered at him.

Shikamaru was a bit surprise at her answer. Was she trying to start a fight with him?

"Ino… He opposed the five great nations." Shikamaru assured her.

She rolled her eyes.

"Tenki was a good man Shikamaru. He saved lives and wanted the Great War to end." Ino argued.

Shikamaru was confused; she acted like she knew the man from a first person kind of view. He never knew of any text books in Konoha that spoke about Tenki; or never even heard about him.

"How would you know that?" Shikamaru questioned with curiosity.

_Does he not know? _Ino questioned in her mind. _Maybe I don't need to tell him; that way when I get the chance I can escape and find the weapon on my own._

"How did you find me?" Ino asked abruptly.

"Shino's bugs." Shikamaru answered as he pointed at the two hovering above them.

She sneered at them with hatred; all this time she thought they were friends. They deliberately led the man straight to her.

"Stupid bugs." Ino whispered to herself as she turned her attention back to the ground.

Shikamaru snickered at her reaction.

"Why did you leave?" Shikamaru asked; hints of anger in his voice.

She looked up at him with an equal stare of anger. He had hurt her emotionally.

"You." She replied in a sad voice.

Shikamaru glared at her; he was not amused one bit by her arrogance and the act of stupidity she was showing the shadow ninja. He knew Ino was only trying to pry these turn of events on him. He was not stupid and didn't play her game of coy that easily.

"That doesn't explain why you left." Shikamaru replied.

"It explains you're a jerk." She quickly shot her comment at him with no sign of apology.

He quirked his eyebrow at her; she didn't know how to play her cards right at all.

"Well… I _am_ a jerk… Any other reasons why you left?" Shikamaru asked again.

She scoffed and crossed her legs over each other.

"I left Suna because I wanted to destroy the sonar weapon." She answered blankly.

He shook his head.

"Ino… You are nowhere _close_ enough to be able to take something like this down." Shikamaru assured his teammate who sneered at him from across the fire.

"Oh?" Ino retorted. "And you think you're any closer?"

"As a matter of fact, yes." Shikamaru cockily announced as he stared at her straight on.

She laughed; he probably didn't even know the way to find this weapon. She had a strange map after all; she wasn't sure if this thing was the right thing that was going to lead her to that thing she hopes is the thing.

"You're in out of your head." She challenged him.

"Oh?" Shikamaru replied with interest.

She stared at him; he stared at her.

"Let's make a deal." Ino finally spoke.

Shikamaru scoffed at her suggestion; clearly she was in no state to be making deals with him; Konoha's genius.

"Whoever doesn't find the weapon and destroy it first, has to leave the other person alone for good." She proposed her challenge.

"Nope, you're getting out of my hair no matter what. As soon as we return to Suna, you're leaving back to Konoha and off my team." Shikamaru spoke harshly to her, not showing any emotion.

She felt a pang in her chest. Shikamaru really wanted nothing to do with her. She looked away and stared off into the dark abyss of forest next to them; trying her hardest to push the tears in her eyes back. She had never been hurt so much before by one man.

This was the last straw; Ino swore to herself that she was not going to gain anymore feelings for the heartless fool in front of her.

"Why do you even like me?" Shikamaru asked; breaking her thought.

She continued to stare off into the open space for a few moments before composing herself to face him.

"Why do you hate me so much? What did I do to deserve your scrutiny?" Ino asked nearly in tears.

He shrugged and shooed the question aside. Not even the slightest bit of emotion on his face. Ino turned away and forced her eyes dry; there was nothing between them anymore. He was acting so cruel to her.

"Don't tell me you're going to cry…" Shikamaru laughed from the side as he watched her with the ugliest smirk on his face.

Ino was infuriated; he was a heartless being. She stood up abruptly with anger in her eyes. How she wished she could waltz on over to him and smack him for all he's worth. She immediately made a decision to just go inside the building and ignore his rash and stupid behavior. It just wasn't worth it now.

Shikamaru watched her storm off into the room. He knew she was angry beyond words. Truth, it hurted him terribly to say these things to Ino; but he has to do what he has to do.

He had rejected Ino because truly in his heart, he loved Temari. He didn't want to hurt Ino in the near future. But slowly and carefully, Ino had been creeping into his skin and settling in there like she had all those years ago. He knew that slowly he was falling in love with Ino once again.

"I don't want to hurt you anymore…" Shikamaru whispered to himself as he looked at her; apology in his eyes.

He watched as Ino threw her stuff down on the ground and laid out her bed next to a wall. Her long golden hair glistened in the flower light. The length of her body was playful; how he wished to hold it naked and bare against his.

She had earlier changed into her short night gown that opened at her back. The fabric played against her every curve.

Ino glanced briefly at him; he was watching her intently. A sudden urge for payback crossed her mind. Maybe she'd do a little bit of something to make him suffer just once. Purposely she stretched out her arms and perked her breasts upward. Closing her eyes and giving out a playful moan; giving more emphasis to her torture as she bent over on all fours and arched her back like a cat.

Opening her eyes she saw Shikamaru's face staring at the fire with a hand in front of his face. The strange smug face stared into the fire with intensity burning in his eyes; still angry with her.

_HE DIDN'T EVEN SEE ME!_ Ino cursed her efforts in her mind.

She sighed and fell onto her open mat ready for sleep.

_Why is he so cruel? _Ino questioned in her mind as she began pacing in her mind of the things he had said and done to her.

When he was a child he never spoke to her in such manor; he never dared fight her to the ground. He was sweet and gentle. He always smiled at her with such grace and kindness. Now… he was like a shadow of his younger self.

Was everything they had come up against now truly her fault? In ways she had thought it to be; but in ways she felt she was the one being wronged for these terrible things happening to her.

Lost in her thought she didn't hear him creeping up from behind her.

A sudden embrace cuddled against her back side and wrapped strong arms against her. She shuddered and backed away out of fear for the sudden move. He quickly bundled her up before she could fight back and pressed her bare back to his open shirtless chest.

_Since when… _Ino fought the thought in her mind as she noted his every texture on his toned abs that were pursed onto her back.

"Shika…?" Ino barely had the time to ask before there was a warm liquid like feeling on the upper part of her right jaw.

Shikamaru kissed her gently. His tongue lapping over her jaw line and tracing up to her ear; his breathing was soft and hot against her skin. She inched her back away in protest but was quickly denied as Shikamaru's left arm came underneath her body and grasped her back against his open chest tightly. She gasped as his right hand placed itself underneath her skirt and lifted it above her belly.

Her mind was sent a blazed with his sudden burst of passion. Sending shocks of waves in her body as each kiss became hungrier than the next. Her body wanted more as she felt his member's length pressed against the back of her open thigh from beneath his sweats. Her body was in a whole new world as he lowered his head down the bridge of her neck.

His kisses now weren't soft little nips anymore as his hunger grew more and more from the way her body was responding to his every move. He wanted to explore these waters.

_Damn you Ino… _Shikamaru cursed in his mind as his body refused to give in to his conscious.

Earlier, he had watched her stretch out her body like a beckoning cat. She was beautiful and sensual. He noted every curve on her as she sat up on all fours. Her ass perked up and he felt a sudden jolt from inside his sweats. Forcing himself to look away from the blond he bit his lip out of anger for his perverseness.

Placing a hand in front of his mouth to hid the gesture as he stared deeply and hardly into the fire. Trying to force the image of Ino out of his mind.

He watched her back as she laid back down in her mat to sleep.

_Why does she have to be so goddamn sexy? _Shikamaru cursed in his mind as he stealthily pushed his hands into his pants to settle himself down.

He watched her gentle breathing as his member refused to give in to his will.

A sudden feel washed over him as he unconsciously stood up. He began walking toward her; hands shaking, senses awoken. He tried his hardest to fight the urge to just push himself onto her and have his way. He slowly slid his shirt off and laid next to her; grabbing her tiny figure and caressing it as he is now.

Without warning she turned over towards him and threw her left arm over his neck. His right hand was on the small of her back now; sending shivers to her nether regions as he gently and unknowingly stroked her soft skin with his fingertips.

Her breathing was hard and hot; lids half closed with a desire burning in them. They were matched equally with his; he knew exactly how she was feeling.

She unconsciously tossed her left leg over his body and nested her own private area above his; her chest close to his face.

He suddenly felt hot; the urge to burn himself into her sent his senses into frenzy as he felt his member pushed up naughtily against her pubic bone.

"Ino…" He growled against her before taking her creamy collar bones into his mouth.

He heard her gasp for air as he pushed her harder against him. His member grinding around her area that he could feel was seeping wetness into his own clothing. Her arms clutched onto his neck and backside for support; her right hand messing with his hair unconsciously as she began moaning softly to herself.

Feeling his member rubbing and massaging her clitoris sent her mind into an inferno of desire.

He lowered his face toward the valley of her breasts and licked the top ever so gently. He heard a squeal escape from her lips as he nuzzled his nose and mouth between those large pairs of hers.

Without warning she pushed him over to his and crossed her legs over his belly so she sat on top of him; her small fragile hands pinning his shoulders. She sucked in her breath as she let her blond hair loose from the band it was held within.

Shikamaru looked up at her curiously; the way she sat on him, the way his body fit perfectly in between her own body was like she was _made _for Shikamaru. He could feel her wetness on his body and it made him grow even harder.

He had never been this aroused before in his life.

"Shikamaru…" Ino whispered as she bent over and kissed her cheeks gently.

His hands clutched tightly on her firm butt cheeks and began massaging them thoroughly from beneath his palms.

He inhaled her sweet scent and burned it into his mind before abruptly pushing her off of him harshly.

"That's enough." He spoke seriously to her with a straight face.

"What?" Ino asked abruptly; hoping everything that just happened in the few intimate moments wasn't an act.

"I said that's enough." Shikamaru repeated as he stood up and ignored the calls from his member.

Ino felt the tears of embarrassment burn her eyes as they poured out of her eye sockets. He had played her for a fool yet again. She gathered a blanket and covered herself protectively; unwilling to look up at the guy.

She had almost given herself away to him; it was all a trick. One of his stupid mind games he was playing on her again. She whimpered to herself and waited for his leave.

Shikamaru used every will he could to turn away from the whimpering girl in front of him. He shooed the need to overwhelm her dying heart with his own body and make her cry out in pleasure instead cry out in agony as she was right now.

He turned away and walked outside; back to the barely lit fire.

Ino felt cold as she continued to cry into her blanket. She was so vulnerable.

Shikamaru looked over at Ino who was still crying; he decided to spare her some silence this time. So he threw one log into the fire and before long, he disappeared into the night.

* * *

_OH MY GAWD! SHIKAMARU IS A JERK! _Ok I lied, he's a good person… just kind of confused right now… he THINKs _he's in love with Temari… when really… he's already in love with Ino… I think… well hope you liked it… :P_


	20. Chapter 20

Shikamaru returned after a few moments of coping with himself and getting fresh air.

He felt terrible for the things he had been doing to Ino. He was being rather dickish to her; and he didn't want to be. He just didn't want to hurt her; but he already was. So why was it so hard to ignore his beautiful teammate and continue on with his own life?

The fire was dimly lit again; tossing another log into the fire he peeped into the building.

Ino was fast asleep.

He sighed and fidgeted with the fire again. The sparks twinkled with the glow of the moonflowers. It was beautiful… Like Ino. He closed his eyes; taking in the situation. He was here now; in a creepy dark forest with his past love. He couldn't help but feel like he was being somewhat cruel to her. He opened his eyes and looked over at the sleeping princess again.

_Perhaps I should be nicer… _Shikamaru thought to himself as he watched her back faced towards him.

Perhaps he should.

He sighed and leaned back into the grass with his hands behind his head. The stars could be seen from the clearing. The moonlight twinkled lovingly around him as he laid there. For some reason he wanted to treasure this place in his memory.

He heard Ino shuffle from inside and he glanced back at her.

_Why do you have to be so goddamn beautiful, Troublesome…? _Shikamaru questioned Ino from inside his mind.

He hated the way he had felt when he touched her earlier; there was no restraint in the way he hungered for her. He nearly ripped himself in pieces to when he used every ounce of will he had to push her away from him. These sexual tensions were killing Shikamaru from the inside out.

Why can't his body want the one his heart wants? Why was it so hard to control his hormones around that beautiful sleeping blond across from him?

He cursed himself.

Looking up at the stars again he traced back in his mind for another one of those soft memories he had. To those times he shared with a little Ino way back when things were better. He sought for anything that came into mind. Something he could grasp onto again in this moment.

* * *

_Flashback_

"Okay kids… bathtime!" Yoshino called out to the two little kids in Shikamaru's bedroom.

"Yes mom!" Shikamaru called out as he got up and walked over to the bathroom; Ino following afterwards.

This was Ino's first sleep over at Shikamaru's house. So far she was having lots of fun at his house; she actually got to experience a mother's love today. Although Shikamaru had been telling Ino that the way his mom shows love isn't love.

Sure she was yelling a lot; but she had good intentions. Something Ino looked up to; a fierce and independent woman who knows what she wants in life.

Ino watched as Shikamaru fondled into the bathroom with his mom and began taking off his clothes. Slowly Yoshino looked over to the little Ino standing at the door who was watching the two with curiosity.

"Ino, aren't you taking a bath too?" Yoshino asked the little Ino who was watching.

Ino flinched as she heard Yoshino's voice carry to her.

"Um… I'm not sure." Ino replied.

Yoshino smiled kindly and walked over to Ino. She helped untie Ino's dress and flip it over the little blonds head. Ino unnoticeably placed her hands onto Yoshino's left breast for balance. Briefly she looked up. Ino had never felt the warmth of a mother's chest before.

"Remember to clean behind your ears okay?" Yoshino commanded as she helped Ino balance as Ino's little fingers slid off her baby pink undies.

"MOM!" Shikamaru cried out and turned embarrassingly around.

Yoshino's kind tone suddenly turned deadly in that one instance.

"Shikamaru Nara! You be nice to her!" Yoshino was furious.

"But mom, she's a girl!" Shikamaru complained again as he refused to remove his own underwear.

Yoshino snickered loudly; causing Shikamaru to flinch out of fear. Ino giggled and watched as Yoshino stood up and walked over to her little boy.

"Where are your manners young man?!" Yoshino hissed and yanked Shikamaru's underwear off.

Shikamaru instantly cupped his manhood and hid it from Ino's sight. She laughed and strolled past him and flopped into the bath of warm water. Yoshino pulled Shikamaru's shoulder length hair out from its grip and motioned into the water.

Shikamaru begrudgingly climbed into the tub and sat next to the little Ino who dipped her head into the water. He looked back at his mom who stood at the door briefly before leaving back toward the kitchen. He waited as he heard her feet trail away.

Finally when the coast was clear he looked back at Ino. She was smiling brightly at him; hoping he wouldn't yell at her. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and turned away; blushing.

"Isn't this cool?" Ino asked as she splashed water onto herself.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and refused to look at the naked little Ino next to him. Ino looked at the nervous Shikamaru with curiosity.

_Why is he being so shy? _Ino thought to herself as her eyes trailed into the water at what his hands were covering.

"What are you hiding down there?" Ino asked curiously.

Shikamaru turned his body completely from her.

"It's my Wee Wee. Stop looking troublesome." Shikamaru commanded.

"Wee Wee?" Ino repeated in a question.

"Yes, my Wee Wee… I don't want you looking at it." Shikamaru responded as he felt blood rush to his face.

Ino peeked over his shoulder and looked down at his so called, "Wee Wee". She had no idea what she was looking at.

"What's that?" She asked; causing Shikamaru to jump.

"D-Don't look at me!" Shikamaru exclaimed as he pushed her away.

His hands touched her chest area and she briefly looked at herself. She remembered the warmth of Yoshino's breast. It was soft and comforting.

"Shikamaru… you're smart… what are those things on your mommy?" Ino asked curiously.

"What things?" Shikamaru replied over his shoulder.

"You know… those soft things on top of her heart." Ino said.

Shikamaru thought about it for a moment and looked over at Ino from his shoulder.

"You mean her boobs?" Shikamaru asked.

Ino shrugged and smiled at the little boy. He groaned and turned around towards her; finally becoming more comfortable with Ino.

"You don't know what boobs are?" He asked.

"What are boobs?" Ino asked.

Shikamaru had no idea how to explain breasts to Ino. He himself didn't completely know about them.

"Umm… Well…" Shikamaru hesitated and brought both of his hands to his chest. He curled his fingers, emphasizing the shape of breasts.

"Yeah! Those!" Ino nodded happily.

Shikamaru groaned and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well Ino… those are called boobs. They're meant for feeding babies and…" Shikamaru hesitated.

Ino waited for him to continue. He was blushing and looking away from her.

"And?" Ino inched him on.

Shikamaru pouted his lips and looked curiously at her.

"Well… my dad told me that boobs are also used to make us guys happier in the bed." Shikamaru finished.

"**HE SAID WHAT?!"** Yoshino's shriek came from the open door as she stood there; gaping at the little boy.

"Why that little…" She added on as she immediately stormed away to look for Shikamaru's dad.

"oops…" Shikamaru whispered to himself as he settled silently into the water.

Ino had completely no idea on what was going on. She just wanted to learn more about anatomy.

"What do you think of boobs?" Ino suddenly asked.

Shikamaru shrugged and pouted his lips.

"I don't think anything about them."

"Oh…" Ino replied.

Curiously, her mind drifted back to his… "Wee Wee". She inspected herself and noted that she didn't have anything strange from her nether regions.

"Shikamaru… Why do you have a Wee Wee?" Ino asked.

"Boys have them. Girls don't." Shikamaru answered.

Ino smiled and settled in next to him. The bath water was warm and relaxing against her baby soft skin. She closed her eyes and let the feeling sink in. She was in the bath tub with her new friend Shikamaru. She had experienced a mother's touch and learned what a Wee Wee was.

"Shika kun?" Ino's voice broke the silence.

Shikamaru's baby face looked over at her.

"I want to have more baths with you…" She finished and settled more into the water.

"How troublesome…" Shikamaru replied and dipped his head into the water.

After a while they finished and came out. Shikamaru dressed in a grey tank top with P.E. shorts and flopped into bed. Ino pulled out her night gown and flopped it on. She looked over at Shikamaru who was getting ready to sleep.

"Shika… where do I sleep?" Ino asked.

Shikamaru looked over at Ino who was fidgeting with her fingers. She was cute in her purple night gown. It matched her perfectly like all her other outfits.

"Um, if you want… I can sleep on the ground." Shikamaru answered as he got up from his bed.

She shook her head and blushed.

"I-I don't want to do that to you…" Ino replied.

"Why not let her sleep with you?" Shikaku's voice suddenly sprang up from behind Ino.

"Dad? Mom hasn't found you?" Shikamaru asked.

"Mom? Does she need me for something?" Shikaku replied.

"Um, never mind then dad…" Shikamaru replied; trying to hide the fact that Yoshino was probably hunting the world down for his father as of the moment.

Shikaku walked over to Shikamaru's bed and cleared it out for the two of them to sleep. His old mature hands moved swiftly across the sheets and prepared it quickly.

"Okay Ino… you can sleep here." Shikaku called out to Ino as she stepped in and waltz onto Shikamaru's bed with a smile on her face.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and shifted in next to Ino.

"Kay, goodnight kids." Shikaku said as he kissed Shikamaru's forehead. Surprisingly he leaned over toward Ino and kissed hers too.

He walked over and turned off the light.

"Don't stay up okay? You know how your mom is…" Shikaku added.

"**SHIKAKU!"** A loud yet noticeable shriek came from the hall way; causing Shikamaru and Ino to jump from the bed.

Shikaku barely had any time to react when his wife's hand came and gripped onto his sensitive ear.

"What did you tell my boy about breasts?" She questioned and dragged him away from the door.

For a few moments Ino and Shikamaru heard bickering coming from the other room.

"I-Is your dad going to be okay?" Ino asked.

"Yeah… he'll just have to wash dishes for the rest of his life." Shikamaru replied and threw his arms over his head; tucking his palms under his messy black hair.

Ino settled down and rested her head onto his chest.

"What are you doing Ino?" Shikamaru questioned.

"My dad always does this when he sleeps. I like to cuddle with him." Ino responded.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and heard the little Ino yawn. She nuzzled her head on his chest and positioned herself comfortably on him. His rib cage was much smaller than her father's; but this was a nice experience. She listened to Shikamaru's beating heart. It was soft and sounded like butterfly wings.

"Shikamaru…?" Ino asked.

"Hmm…?" Shikamaru replied lazily.

"One day… I want to have boobs like your mommy…" She replied.

Shikamaru was a bit confused.

"My mom?" Shikamaru asked.

Ino nodded against his frail chest and moved her shoulder closer for the warmth.

"I want to be like your mom Shika…" She added; nearly lulling into sleep now.

"That's troublesome Ino…" Shikamaru commented as he imagined a future Ino with hands on her hips; scolding him left and right.

Ino didn't answer… she was sound asleep.

Shikamaru sighed and looked up at the ceiling. Briefly he heard his mom giggling from the other room; followed by some loud noises. The little Nara rolled his eyes in disgust.

_Parents… _Shikamaru thought disgustingly to himself.

Slowly he closed his eyes and drifted into sleep. He could feel Ino's head on his tiny chest. He didn't care though; whatever made him comfortable was okay for him.

In the morning, Ino's father had come to pick her up.

"Ino, how was your stay?" Inoichi asked fondly as he patted his daughter on her head.

"It was great daddy! I learned what boobs were and saw Shikamaru's Wee Wee!"


	21. HELP

ugh, how unprofessional of me...

I hope you know I only update once a week when I have internet

* * *

So I can't believe it...

I checked the review...

and omfg!

IT WAS ALOT BETTER THAN EXPECTED!

* * *

to:

Shikaino1: S-Senpai? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? this is not QUALITY enough for you to read! quick! turn away!-p.s. thank you sooo much senpai... you actually read this.. and reviewed more than once... it makes me sooo happy...

ShikaInoInuKikIchiHime36 : Thank you so much for your reviews! it inspires me!

queenna0101: Thank you I will keep writing it!

The Clawed Butterfly: thank you... I think Chapter 8 was the best so far for me too :D

Just a reader: OMFGHAGSN! thanks!

futatsu no ken: Your review was really sweet thank you!

mdtiger: You have every right to think that way love, I don't blame you... I actually feel terrible for making him a dick...

Anoni Mos: Thank you so much for returning to review it! I hope I'm not dissapointing anyone!

TheMissMalave: You reviewed on my other one! WEE WEE AND THANK YOU!

and to the others: THANK YOU SOOO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING!

* * *

now for the reason why i made this...

ummm... I am COMPLETELY blank for my next chapter... and welll... it's so unprofessional of me but...

I need ur advice...

I have two scenarios and i need EXTREME help...

I have scenario A) This was actually Mdtiger'sidea where Ino leaves in the morning...

and Scenario B) Ino negotiates with Shikamaru and they both work together to get the weapon... but both are still mad at each other and hoping to destroy it first...

and scenario C) welll... your idea?

please leave your idean on this chapter review or send me it in message...

THANK YOU!


	22. NOT GIVING UP

PLEASE DON'T THINK I GAVE UP ON MY STORIES! IM DOING MY BEST!

-HIDANSAYS


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